Moonlight Sonata
by GuestPatron
Summary: There's a lot to process when you move. Follow Angelie, just graduated from Nurse School, as she struggles with a new region and a close friend's most important project thrust onto her plate. Alola has a lot to offer, but with the consequences of a horrible accident hot on her tail, can she handle it? (Poke TF, Alola)
1. Set Stage

**Before everything I'd like to thank everyone who continues to support this website. It has been amazing these past years reading hundreds of FanFictions and learning about this community. I've always admired at a distance, ever since junior high. But I still love it so much. And now, even in college, it is still one of my favorite places to visit and read creative works. This story may not be the best, but I hope that my overdue contribution to this great community is well received. **

Chapter 1 - Set Stage

Viridian City is one of the premier landmarks of the Kanto region. Its rich history and involvement in the development of the Pokemon League has made it famous not only in its homeland but around the world. It is projected that over half the region's GDP is generated from the tourist and sales revenue of the raging metropolitan economy. When put on a list, more tourists travel through Viridian than the next two cities combined. The city is a socioeconomic masterpiece, a juggernaut of industry and capital.

But the unfortunate hubris of Viridian City is the very thing that drives its success. While it is a worker's paradise, it is leisure's nightmare.

And that I can say without hesitation, sitting in my favorite coffee shop as the usual suffocating din of the other students and nine-to-fivers around me fills the room. Casual business attire has a knack for blending together in a flurry, making it easy to ignore as I study. _Physiology and Habits of Kanto's Wildlife, 3rd ed._ by Professor Samuel Oak wasn't exactly the most engaging book, but with finals on the horizon I suppose it was the best thing I could have been reading.

Nurse School was a bitch, but only a few months from graduation, all I could do was look back at my various experiences and troubles over the past few years and smile. The beast was conquered and I was coming out on top.

I guess I should feel accomplished when it's all over. Though I couldn't spare to daydream at that moment. I'd thought about how I'd gotten here many times already.

I guess you could say I wasn't exactly the most popular of children. I grew up just outside Fuchsia City on Route 15, somewhat isolated from the rest of the bustling seaside town. I never had a friend to walk to school with, nor did I really ever make any along the way. Being a quiet child, I never really made any attempts to socialize, and what little I accomplished in that regard never really amounted to much. I was lucky that I was mostly left to my own devices, but an occasional rustling did find its way to me. It never bothered me though. I found solace in picture books of Pokemon in the wild and magazine articles of great trainers and their amazing Pokemon. I told myself back then that I'd be one of the best trainers Kanto had to see- but I suppose every kid my age had that thought. It came and went, and as pressure from my mother dictated, I eventually enrolled in Pre-PokeMed. I still remember crying when I first saw a dissected Froakie. Time passed, grades were made, and there I was. Part of me always wondered what would have happened had I ignored my mom, but… I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my studies.

Hours blazed by in the coffee shop as the occasional bite from a scone or sip of water urged me on. After a while though, I realized that I was suddenly, abruptly, in company. A chair scooted out loudly in front of me, scraping across the worn hardwood floor. I watched out of my peripheral as a figure took the seat across from me.

"Whatcha readin'?"

A young, naive-sounding male voice broke my train of thought immediately, and sensing that I would have no luck comprehending the next section with this distraction, I lifted my gaze to acknowledge the individual.

"I'm studying actually. For a test."

Annoyance was obvious in my voice, but I was beyond casual formalities. However, this was of no success in driving him away. Instead, a kid dressed tightly in expedition clothing, a large backpack, and assorted other adventurely items stayed well planted in his seat.

"Is that a book on Pokemon? It looks interesting, I like Pokemon too!"

Well, at least I wasn't being hit on. I guess an obviously eccentric trainer like this was better than that at any rate. I took a breath to unwind the tension in my nerves. Perhaps if I couldn't study at the moment, buffing my social skills for the practical exam couldn't hurt.

"Well, that's nice to hear. They are spectacular creatures. I assume you're a trainer? You certainly look the part.", I hazarded the obvious guess.

"Yeah!... Well, not yet. I don't gotta Pokemon! But I did pass my exam! Are you taking yours soon?"

He was cute at least; he couldn't be over fifteen at this rate. I smiled back and shook my head.

"No, no. I'm not trying to become a trainer, I'm in Nurse School. I remember that test though, it was tough wasn't it?"

The kid's eyes lit up like he'd seen his favorite Pokemon for the first time.

"Oh! That's so cool! Do you have a Chansey? Which Center are you gonna work at? Oh, oh! What starter should I get? They're all so cool! I bet Charmander is the best! They have all kinds of awesome tricks they can do when they evolve, like flamethrower and… uhh, oh fly! And!-"

I tuned out the last bit of his rant, but had to cut him off after a bit.

"Ha ha, hold on for a moment. It's not that big of a deal, but to answer a few of those, I don't have a Pokemon and I don't know where I'm going to work, that's up to the School."

He paused for a moment before opening up again.

"Coooooooool! Bummer you don't have a Pokemon though, I'd love to see a nurse's Pokemon… Ok, but I do need a little help though! Can you tell me about Charmander? He's my favorite!"

I paused for a moment, I had three days before my test and I was fairly on pace in my studies. My paper on evolution theory was submitted weeks ago…

I flipped through my book to a tabbed page.

"Here, did you want me to show you a few cool things about Charmander? First, and most importantly is their size and weight…"

* * *

Graduation. I never thought I'd see the day eight years ago. But many long nights of study, a few grants, and lots of luck later, here I am at the top of my game.

Lined up on stage, I stood among this year's thirteen graduates. It took a lot to get through the prefecture's program. Of the hundreds that had applied, only a few of my peers had made it through, including me.

Despite all the difficulty and importance of the occupation, the stadium I was standing in the middle of was quite empty. The short rows of foldable chairs in front of the mildly lofted stage were host to all the audience we had. But, I don't blame anyone for not showing up; it's not like our certificates contained the raging adrenaline of a Pokemon battle. It was simply an occasion for good company and celebration with close friends. Not that I'd partake.

Despite my pride, as I stared at an empty chair among the filled rows, I couldn't help but feel betrayed. My mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Angelie Brown!"

The dean called out my name, and I almost didn't notice. Starting a little, I walked across the stage to light applause and shook his hand. Away from the microphone, he spoke to me.

"I must say, I'm very impressed Angelie."

His face showed the faintest hint of pride, something the Dean's stoney, academic, yet pleasingly familiar visage rarely bestowed. But something else was hiding in his eyes that I couldn't quite place.

"You've worked very hard to get here, harder than I've seen most of my graduates ever work. You have my respect more than anyone else… If you'll meet me after the ceremony, I've got something I'd like to speak to you about in private."

I paused only a moment before responding, processing what he had said.

"... sure thing."

He gave my hand one final shake and a friendly wink before handing me my certificate, putting on a public smile.

"Excellent. I will see you then."

With that, the rest of the ceremony passed quickly, my thoughts darting between my absent mother and the Dean. A sweltering mix of anxiety, accomplishment, and disappointment simmered in my head as the rest of the short list of names was called.

I'd known the Dean since the beginning of my studies. Daniel Quinn had been one of the foremost independent Pokemon researchers for the past two decades, and only on the date of my enrollment eight years ago become dean of the Viridian Nurse School. It was strange, but I think the periodic visits to his office for schedule flubs, attendance, and grading disputes gave us both a chance to escape the unfamiliarity and stress of our blossoming occupations. More than once, my appointments had lengthened into long discussions about evolution chains and theories or physiology discussions and debates. I guess we both appreciated this mutual solace enough to enjoy each other's company. It wouldn't be a stretch to call the man a friend considering how many gray hairs we now shared. And with how he'd spoken just minutes ago, I trembled with excitement as to what surprise he'd brewed up for me.

Finally, the ceremony ended, light jazz emitting from stage speakers and graduates returning to their families. As I exited the stage, I scanned the crowd with a craned neck. There wasn't a sharp-eyed brunette in sight. A part of my heart dropped as my search dwindled down. I pulled out my phone to check for messages. Nothing. I stared at the screen until it turned black again. I hadn't expected my mother, of all people, to ditch.

It took me a moment to calm myself down. I didn't want to speak to Daniel teary eyed, so instead I focused on the excitement I felt for his proposition. Walking away from the crowd, I spotted the Dean near the edge of the stage, speaking with some of the professors. I strolled to the edge of his vision and waved, hoping to catch his attention. It took a moment, but eventually his eyes flickered towards me, and he waved a hasty goodbye to his cabinet. Making his way over, he called out to me.

"I didn't expect to be called out so soon! Where's your...? Ah."

He tripped a bit, noticing the root of the cause.

"I see… well, I hope I can at least distract you a bit. I've got quite the surprise for you. Do you mind if we take a short ride to my office? I'm afraid I can't show you what I'm talking about here."

The short pang of guilt, sadness, and embarrassment I felt at my mother's absence was gone the moment he finished his last sentence, replaced by a raging curiosity.

"Show me?"

"Yes, actually. And trust me, it's not nearly as boring as my usual ecosystem flowcharts. Come on now, I'll drive."

* * *

Viridian at night is a mix of astonishing and terrifying, tall buildings and street lamp light shows making for an intimidating yet impressive display of urban planning and decoration. I'd seen it many times. So instead I uselessly poked at my phone during the short ride in the passenger seat of Daniel's car. I'd sent a text to my mother before leaving to let her know I had urgent and unexpected business to attend to after the ceremony. Thirty minutes later, I was still without so much as a peep in response. And that was all the time I had to stew over it as we arrived at our destination.

"Alright, we're here! I really am excited to show you what I've been up to, Angelie. Took a lot of patience to wait until your graduation."

As we began walking across the lot to the large school building, I responded.

"Really? How long have you been waiting?"

"Since both you and I were a lot younger Angelie. I've been working on this since before I joined the school as Dean."

I looked at him half in surprise, half in further piqued interest.

"This must be a rather important thing then. Part of me thinks it's not a graduation gift."

Daniel laughed.

"Well, that's for you to decide really. But I think it's best if I save the rest for when I actually show you."

Part of me was a little ticked he wasn't just going to tell me what he had in store, but surprises were fun I supposed. As I walked through the familiar halls of the complex, my mind darted between my mother and the looming secret Daniel had been saving for so long. I checked my phone again. Still nothing. I was beginning to worry about my mother's well being, and I guess my concern was rather more apparent than I hoped.

"You doing alright?"

Daniel looked at me with a bit of light concern tingeing his rocky visage.

"Yeah… just trying to make sure she's alright."

Daniel went quiet for a moment, soft clack of dress shoes tapping on linoleum as we walked, nearly at our stop.

"Sometimes parents can get even more nervous than their children you know."

I didn't look at him, but I felt a bit of surprise at his words.

"I remember when I was just a bit older than you are now, my mother fainted when she found out I got approved for my first research expedition. Sometimes, parents… just can't keep up. Try not to hold it against her."

I considered what he said, but I couldn't help feeling it was just consolation. My mother was never really one for cold feet. I guess there's a limit for everyone though. I let it reassure me for the moment as we stood outside the Dean's Office.

"Well, let me just run in here real quick. I'll be right back out."

I looked at him quizzically.

"Wait, your surprise or whatever it is, it's not in your office?"

He replied as he unlocked the door, opening it with a light squeak.

"No, actually. I mean, it could be. But I think it'd violate a few lab regulations if it was. Just a moment."

And with that I was once again left in the dark, watching from the doorway as he shuffled through his desk, eventually producing a key card.

"Here we are! It's in the lab just down the hall."

"Faculty lab?"

"Yep! You didn't think I couldn't get up to no good in there did you?"

I took the liberty of chuckling at his rather dry poke.

"I suppose not."

He brushed past me, flicking off the light and locking the door as we strolled to the lab. Daniel took the chance to open up into monologue once more.

"This project of mine has been mostly exclusive for a long while. I've had to slap the wrists of more than a few professors these past few years. Including Bethany if you'd believe that! Of all people, she couldn't leave my centrifuge alone."

I was rather bemused by the mental image of my elderly professor snooping around in the faculty lab.

"But, truthfully, it hasn't been easy to hide things. I'm pretty sure the faculty knows what I'm up to, but I've been trying to leave things as vague as possible. I feel like the ruse is going to be over here soon, so I might as well have fun showing it off to one of my favorite students."

I felt a little embarrassed that Daniel considered me one of his favorites, but it had been pretty obvious.

"I've never heard you so vocal about something. I'm your favorite?"

"ONE of my favorites, don't get cocky now. But yes, it's rather difficult to contain my excitement."

We waited outside the sealed lab entrance for a moment before Daniel lifted up his key card and displayed it smugly as his stone face could, then swiped it to unlock the door.

"But enough talk. Let's show you what I've been up to."

As the air seal broke, I felt air rush into the lab, vent hoods obviously pulling a small vacuum on the lab. I stepped inside and gasped as I saw the state of the lab. It was as if an entire team of chemists had come in and had their way with the place. Condensation tubes, distillation apparatuses, heating mantles, and reaction chambers littered the open counters and open vent hoods were all filled with the residue of a completed experiment.

"Jeez, Daniel, I didn't know you were a part time chemist."

Daniel said nothing as he walked expertly around the giant apparatuses. Settling in one corner of the room as I lazily followed, gawking as I inspected the glass sculptures. Eventually, Daniel's patience ran out.

"Get over here before someone sees you without a labcoat."

Hurrying my pace at the sound of Daniel's usual terse, business tone I made my way over to the corner he was huddled in. I found him standing, arms crossed, in front of a locked containment chamber. Inside was a rack of test tubes, each one holding a shimmering, almost iridescent red liquid. It was mesmerizing to watch.

"I suppose once you get over the light show you'll want to know what it is right?"

I nodded, eyes unmoving from the product behind the thick glass of the chamber.

"Well, that's enough of the sightseeing, its photon sensitive anyways."

He pressed a button on the chamber's touchpad and the viewing glass went black as the interior light flicked off. I blinked and piped up instantly.

"What *is* that?"

"There we go. Asking the right questions now."

He grinned as I fake pouted.

"But before I answer that, I want to ask you a question."

He pointed one of the fingers on his crossed arms in my direction for emphasis. I paused, taken aback a bit at his slightly forceful tone. He hadn't been this serious with me since I nearly flunked Advanced Organic Chemistry.

"Y-yes?"

"I want to know if I can trust you, Angelie Evelen Brown, with this confidential information. In doing so, I wish to take on your aid and partnership in a revolutionary endeavor into Pokemon organic sciences, the likes of which the world has never seen before."

I was floored. I hadn't expected Daniel would be up to something as weighty as this. This was possibly the most important thing I'd ever been involved in, I was sure of it. Silence filled the room as I sluggishly processed what I'd been told.

"I… I… You can trust me."

With another lengthy silence, Daniel unwound his arms, eyes like razor-edged gemstones locked onto mine, and drew a piece of paper out of the interior breast pocket of his suit along with a small pen.

"Sign on the line here, and I'll tell you everything."

He handed it to me with precise delicacy. As the paper and pen came to my slightly clammy hands, he spoke up again.

"I understand if this is a lot to process, especially with how tonight has been. Don't let me pressure you too hard."

A tiny, almost undetectable smile cracked on his hard lips, and with it, some of the tension was lifted, enough for me to pipe up.

"You tight pantsed asshole."

His smile widened a bit.

It only took me a moment to sign the paper. All it contained were basic legally binding clauses such as NDAs and partnership agreements. I assumed the rest of the papers were in a giant legal stack somewhere in his office. With a smug look I handed them back, curiosity and eagerness at an all time high.

"I'm so glad you came through, Angelie."

"I did it once, I'll do it again."

"Yeah, yeah, you graduated, I get it. Now buckle your seat belt, because we're about to solve the Pokemon-Human language barrier."

My heart skipped a beat.


	2. A Moment Please

**I'm putting this chapter out early for multiple reasons. One, because I want to have a little more presentable 'meat' in my story for people to view and to give them a better idea of where the story will be going. It's a monster of a chapter at about 15-16k words, though I intend to keep the chapters roughly that length (or shorter, depending on the situation). The second, and slightly more important reason is because this chapter is actually a tad unpolished and I'd like to garner a little criticism on it. Ideally, I'd like to have a beta reader, but I'd rather the person be explicitly interested in my story and to want to help me develop it further. If you like my story so far and would like to help me put out more chapters in the future, please let me know.**

Chapter 2 - A Moment Please

"What? What do you mean? That… that's a huge physiological and psychological hurdle to jump! You're telling me you've made it possible with a, uhh, whatever that is?"

I pointed questioningly to the still dark containment chamber. I was floored and frankly, in a bit of denial. There was absolutely no way Daniel was telling the truth. The Pokemon and human language systems were entirely different. They ran on opposing principles, both biologic and linguistic, and even with rudimentary translations, which have been successfully completed with more intelligent species and psychic Pokemon, comprehensive understanding of a Pokemon speech in real time on any level was practically impossible.

Daniel stared at me for a moment as I glared at him, ready to call him out on his obvious prank. Then with a calm, straight tone he replied.

"Yes, I have."

My eyes widened further in surprise, but before I could get another word off, Daniel picked up again.

"Almost, I should say. Otherwise, I think having you sign those papers would have been quite useless. This is my complete prototype, an experimental drug designed to do just that, facilitate the understanding and learning of Pokemon speech and language patterns."

I couldn't wait any longer to respond.

"That's ridiculous Daniel, this would imply not only a breakthrough in Pokemon sciences, but in human health, understanding of biological processes in the human mind, and neuroscience that are decades if not centuries ahead of our current understandings. Quit pulling the wool over my eyes, I didn't graduate to be taunted like this."

Daniel remained silent for a moment, then reached to his belt under his suit coat and pulled out a minimized pokeball. He tossed it on the floor and with a familiar flash his companion Pokemon appeared. Confused, I watched his Porygon apparate. He knelt and gave the artificial Pokemon a small pat on the head, which it happily welcomed.

"You know Bohr, Angelie, my Porygon?"

I blinked; it was a given. The Pokemon's bubbly nature was sweet enough every time I'd met them. From what I knew, they'd been partners for a very long time.

"Yes."

He stood and turned to the counter again, this time pulling out a laptop and a short cable.

"Well, he's been influential in my testing as of late. You must be aware that as an artificial Pokemon, we are able to fully translate their intended speech. Though, when vocalized, it is almost completely unintelligible to human hearing."

"Yes, that's right."

Daniel navigated the computer quickly, opening a program and then beckoning Bohr to join him. The Porygon eagerly hopped up on the counter, seemingly used to this process. Daniel handed his Pokemon the cable, which Bohr quickly plugged himself into. It was comical, seeing the Porygon looking like it was munching on the cable it had been handed.

"I've been taking minute doses of my drug for the past week, carefully monitoring my health and noting any side effects. I'm excited to show you the product of my labor. I will be facing the other way, watch the computer screen and I will respond to what is said to me."

Daniel turned quickly and took a few paces away from the corner, standing a fair distance away. Still a tad skeptical, I approached the computer, watching the screen as Bohr beeped happily.

"Bohr, say whatever you like!"

A series of cute, computerized chirps emitted from the Porygon as it spoke up. It seemed to be addressing me. The program on the screen seemed to process the output coming in from the cable connected to the Pokemon, then displayed a single sentence.

'Hello, Angelie! It's been a while!'

A short pause, and Daniel spoke up.

"Now come on, Bohr. Give me something I can't guess on, you can catch up with Angelie later."

Butterflies jumped in my stomach as my eyes darted between Daniel and the screen. The Porygon shuffled a bit, seemingly embarrassed, then spoke again.

'Hmm… The capital of Kanto is Viridian City.'

Another short pause.

"That's more like it. And you're right Bohr, Viridian is the capital of Kanto."

The Porygon bounced happily as I turned quickly to address Daniel. All the doubt had faded away and been filled with excitement and glee. I practically yelled in the lab.

"Daniel, this is amazing! I-I don't know where to begin!"

He turned to face me, possibly the widest, shit eating grin I'd ever seen on his rock faced mug.

"I told you so."

I couldn't contain it any longer, I practically tackled the Dean into a crushing hug. The significance of this discovery was life changing, a true monumental discovery! The rush and excitement at being at the forefront of its development… It was almost too much to handle. I was practically hiccupping, tripping over words that wouldn't quite come out. Daniel let me hug him for a few moments before shrugging me out of it, wide smile still plastered on his face.

"Now hold on, both you and I know this is far from complete."

"W-what do you mean? This is amazing! I've never seen, er, heard anything like it, Daniel!"

He paused a moment, letting me regain my composure a bit.

"There's a lot I have to fill you in on and lots of work to be done before this is a finished product, Angelie. You should know that more than anyone."

I took a deep breath and pulled myself together a bit more before replying.

"Yes, right. Right…"

He then shuffled by me and returned to the corner and began to shut down the computer, unplugging Bohr and giving him another pat on the head.

"Thanks for your help."

The Pokemon buzzed in response. It didn't take much to guess what it meant.

"Now, there's a lot to be done and a lot of testing ground to be covered. I'm sure you have your questions and I'm willing to answer them all. But for now, it's getting late. All will be covered in due time."

He shut his laptop and faced me.

"But for now, all I can give you is a word of caution."

I stared at him, a bit puzzled. I was more than willing to give a vow of silence on the project. That much had been established.

"It goes without saying that I wish to keep this project under distinct wraps. If anyone asks what we got up to, I was just giving you a graduation gift. I have a box of chocolates in my office if you care for it. But more importantly, I don't think this project is quite as clandestine as I'd hoped to keep it. There's a mole somewhere in this facility and I fear that if I continue to perform my research here, it may be exposed and at worst, replicated."

I blinked, a bit caught off guard at the aspect.

"What you see tonight in the lab will all be gone by tomorrow, this show was for you and you only."

He whispered to Bohr, who nodded. I couldn't help but get the impression that the artificial Pokemon seemed to look a bit sad. Then a moment later Daniel recalled him, but kept the ball minimized in his hand, pausing for a moment. His face was stony as ever, but his eyes… Watered.

"I fear what's worse, is that I'm being followed. Whether it is the fault of my own flapping gums or the mole is no matter, but someone knows what I'm up to, and they want it. I can feel it. And for as academic as I am, with all my years in the field… I know what's going on. That's why I need you so much, Angelie."

A cold sweat broke over me as I realized what he was implying. But I was too frozen to say anything.

"I will be entrusting this project to you for now. I've booked you a flight to Alola, I hope that there, we will be able to continue this project with a sound mind. A close colleague of mine has an encrypted copy of all my research papers that only Bohr has the access code to. I will be putting him in your Box before I leave tonight, he's yours now."

I involuntarily brought a hand to my mouth, my throat getting tighter as he continued.

"My colleague's name is Professor Kukui and his wife is Professor Burnet. They've been friends of mine for years and are the only other people I've chosen to disclose any information to about this project other than you. All they know is what I'm working on, it will be your job to personally research a small sample for-"

I slapped him. He paused before responding.

"... I'm sorry Angelie, this may be goodbye, at least for a while."

* * *

"Dear Angie, I'm so sorry I didn't make it to your graduation. I couldn't get out of the office, my boss is a fiend. I will mail you your graduation gift. It seems we're both so busy nowadays. I love you. Mom."

I stared at the text as I sat on my airplane seat. It had only been sent yesterday, the day after my graduation. Had you asked me how I thought graduating Nurse School would have gone, I might have replied that I'd be scheduled to go to a Pokemon Center in the next week where I'd start my career as a nurse. I'd probably sit in my apartment and stress over where I was going and what the trainers would be like and try to distract myself with social media and cheap food.

I most certainly wouldn't have told you that I'd be on a flight to one of the most isolated regions of the world to deliver a highly confidential experimental drug in a backpack filled with my most essential belongings. I wouldn't have told you that I'd now be in charge of one of the most important scientific projects in the world. And I also wouldn't tell you that I'd be fearing for my close friend and dean's well being. I also wouldn't tell you that I'd have no idea what the hell I was doing.

I put my phone down and decided to thumb through one of the newer looking magazines in the sleeve of the seat in front of me.

'Kanto's Best Upcoming! Meet the Trainer Fastest to Ever Complete the Gym Circuit!'

A vaguely familiar face of a rather prideful looking young man dressed in roughed up expedition gear posed in front of a camera with a strong looking Charizard. I flipped through it absentmindedly and picked out all of the fallacies the magazine had to offer to help pass the time as night clouds drifted by. My afternoon flight had been soaring all afternoon, at five hours in, my butt ached something fierce and I was feeling constipated from airline food. Not to mention, since the flight was mostly tourists, I'd had more than enough wailing babies and screaming children for a while. We were almost there, if what the captain said a few minutes ago was correct. Which meant I would be arriving in the middle of the night, which, was less than favorable, but it was better than an early morning flight. I was never really any sort of early bird. I guess I had to thank Daniel for noticing that about me.

The magazine didn't really last long, as journalistic writing usually never did. But it did last long enough for my destination to make its appearance over the shimmering moonlit waters of the ocean. The incandescent lights of shoreline towns on the coast of the archipelago teased the straining vision of my eyes. It didn't take long for me to settle in and begin eagerly awaiting our descent. I began to listen to the tourists' chat, which I had been tuning out for a while.

"There it is! That's Alola!"

"I'm so excited to see new Pokemon!"

"Later honey, it's late."

"I wonder if there's any places open 24 hours?"

"I need a coffee too."

At least the last statement I could agree with. The flight had been exhausting so far and it was fairly late. I'm sure it would be a whole other trek to get to Professor Kukui's, then even more effort to speak to him for a while. I just hoped he was truthful when he said he didn't mind me crashing for a while. My place still wasn't quite ready, and though Daniel had payed for it, it was still relatively short notice.

The plane shuddered as it descended, approaching the islands. We were going to be landing on Melemele, and soon I'd be out of this miserable flying submarine.

I thought carefully to the very last thing Daniel had said to me as he drove me home.

"_I know you're so, so overwhelmed, and I'm sorry. Just know that I need your help and I'll be right behind you. You won't be alone in this venture, I promise."_

* * *

Airport terminals aren't usually meant to be super glamorous. That being said, they can be quite nice. Giant wooden arches shielded the cargo loading zone as I sit and wait for a ride. Despite my significant level of exhaustion, I couldn't help but smile. People don't exaggerate when they say Alola is one of the most beautiful regions there is. Tropical seabreeze, bountiful stars, a wide full moon, and lovely traditionally styled architecture were the first things to greet me. And to be honest, it was nice.

I pulled out my phone to check the status of my ride as I sat on the bench. There was a small coffee shop open 24 hours near Professor Kukui's place. I figured I'd just walk from there. After all, it was a very nice night, and I wanted a bit of an excuse to stretch my legs.

My phone buzzed with a notification and looking up I saw my ride pulling into the terminal. A window rolled down and a cheerful looking old man greeted me from inside the car.

"Alola! You wouldn't be Angelie, would you?"

Grabbing my bag I stood and waved back, phone in hand.

"Thats me!"

"Great, let me pop the trunk for you!"

He quickly got out of the car and stepped around to the back to help me with my bag. But the second I got closer I gasped in surprise. This man was far more familiar than I'd expected. I'd nearly dropped my bag in shock.

"Samuel?! You're Professor Samuel Oak!"

The man blinked rapidly, a bit taken aback by my outburst, but then broke into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Yes, that's me!"

He outstretched an arm for my bag, which I clumsily handed over.

"Oh, yeah! Here."

He placed the bag lightly in his trunk then shut it before replying, smile on his face.

"It's not often I have people recognize me so quickly! I guess the tan can't shake everyone though. You must be a fan of my work, hmm?"

He motioned for me to follow him into the car before we continued. It was only a few more moments before we were riding along the moonlit streets of Melemele.

"Well, not so much of an aspiring fan, but I have read all your works! Your work has really put forward the field of Pokemon medical sciences."

He looked at me, a bit surprised but amused look, before refocusing on the road.

"You must be a nurse if I'm guessing right. I'm astounded they still use my work! It's been a while since I've been in the schools for any studies. Been retired almost a decade now."

"I just graduated actually. And as far as schools teaching your work goes… Well, I did take the liberty of reading a few of your published papers on my own if it makes a difference."

"So you ARE a fan."

I paused a moment, then laughed.

"I guess I've been caught red handed."

Oak continued to nod and smile, a bit of old pride showing on his face.

"I'm glad I still have fans, don't get me wrong. Especially young and upcoming ones like you, young lady. There's a lot of old knowledge we have to keep in mind! Don't let that make you think I'm old though. I still have that youthful fire! Did you know I can still ride a wave?"

I found it comical to picture the old professor riding a massive wave, lab coat on like in the pictures I used to see in textbooks. Then again, with the tan, floral shirt, and longer hair, Oak certainly looked like he was well on beach time.

We made small talk for awhile as we rode along the island roads. I'd almost forgotten to tell him my destination. And to my chagrin, in his presence, the temptation of telling him about my project was quite great. But promises were promises. Eventually, we arrived at the small coffee shop and he helped me get my bag.

"It was lovely talking to you Ms. Angelie, I do hope your stay in Alola goes well. If you ever need a ride again, do ring!"

"Thank you so much, it was great, really."

As he stepped into the car he gave me one final goodbye.

"I do look forward to whatever you've got to bring to the world of Pokemon, Angelie. I'd say you've got an exciting future ahead of you. Happy trails!"

And with that he drove off.

I paused for a moment, a little taken aback at the professors assertion. I hadn't really even thought about my extended future and to be honest, the way he said it was a bit puzzling. It seemed to be less of a jovial goodbye and more of him… telling me something. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and turned to enter the shop. The short conversation with the drowsy barista wasn't nearly as interesting as what I had on my mind. Should I even ponder it right now? I hadn't even had the time to process much of anything else other than the wild situation I'd been thrown into. I sipped on my coffee. Honestly, right now, in this moment I didn't want to think about it much. I let the thought sink to the back of my mind as I relaxed into my chair, enjoying my drink and waiting for the familiar caffeine buzz. I just hoped that my walk would wake me up a bit.

I stayed in the shop a while. The clock read about 12:35 when I decided it would be a good time to head towards Professor Kukui's, as he was expecting me around 1:00 AM. From the looks of things it was about a 20 minute walk. His place really wasn't far and if the satellite was correct he lived in a quaint little shack by the ocean side. I memorized the path and finished my coffee, drugged enough to get moving, the slightly chilly night air spurring me to get a move on.

As I walked along the dirt path I began taking mental notes of the environment around me. Alola was unlike any other region, it's tropical climate and bountiful soil spawned fauna like no other. It made me wonder what this region's Pokemon were like. Undoubtedly, they thrived off of the rich and well preserved ecosystem the archipelago had to offer. I'd heard also of regional differences between Pokemon here and in other regions, such as Rattata or Raichu. I thought happily about it as I made my way to Kukui's.

But something was off. I kept hearing footsteps behind me. Though when I went to look, every time, I'd be met with nothing but the path I'd been walking on before. I quickened my pace, hoping that I was just imagining things or it was just some nocturnal Pokemon. But eventually they got closer. And closer still. I was just about to break out into a run when I suddenly heard a voice call out.

"Yo girl!"

A young, thug like voice called out behind me and I stopped. Freezing for a moment as I clutched the straps of my backpack tighter. I suddenly regretted not taking Bohr from the box before I left the terminal.

"What's a girl like you doin' round here?"

Another voice, this time slightly different, piped in.

"Yeah dudn't that seem a little queer?"

I heard them walking a little closer, probably no less than a few meters away and turned to face them, trying my best to keep calm.

"I'm almost home and it's late, so if you don't mind. I'd rather not talk right now."

The two men were dressed exactly how they sounded. Baggy pants, ill fitting tank tops, and painted dust masks with insignia bearing beanies shaped them as not quite the savory night dwelling type. They didn't pay too much attention to my request, and instead moved closer, almost within arms distance. I stepped back.

"Aww, don't be shy, we won't bite!"

"Yeah, all we wanna know is what you're doin' tonight!"

My face went from calm to distinctly angry rather quickly, these two were obviously good for nothing gangbangers. But I wasn't in Viridian City for almost a decade to get pushed around by these losers. I eyed their waistbands. These guys were amateurs, they weren't even carrying guns. I shrugged off my backpack and brought it to my front, holding it like a shield.

"I'm going home. Without you guys."

The two men looked at each other stunned for a moment, likely not expecting me to square up so readily. They spoke to each other quickly, in a hushed tone. I watched them carefully through my frown.

"Listen, hun, we got nothin do do with your buns!"

"Yeah man, we're here for the muns!"

I lowered my backpack a bit, but listened intently, now a bit confused myself.

"All we want is the tax! Easy as that!"

"Yeah the trails aren't free! Ya gotta pay the fee!"

And now they were backpedaling. I almost felt sorry for the two.

"Ya see our emblem! That means Trail Squad, and what we say goes."

I almost lowered by backpack completely, these two were gigantic morons. They were obviously just two adolescents up to no good.

"Listen, you two, this is obviously a shakedown. 'Trail Squad'? Really? That's ridiculous, only an idiot would fall for that. And what's with that rhyming schtick? It's weird."

"..."

"Damn, lady you don't have to cramp our style. I think she knows…"

The first one to speak up was obviously frustrated and simply became more angry as I called him out. The other seemed to give up right then, but before he could pull his buddy back, the first thug lashed out. Pulling a pokeball quickly from his belt, he tossed it onto the ground between us.

"Well then you give me no other course! I'll have to take it by force!"

A large Raticate appeared between us, shouting out a battle cry upon its arrival to the field.

I was suddenly and abruptly thrown for a loop in many different ways. The first way was the abject stupidity of this guy using his Pokemon for a criminal act, the second was that this was the first time I'd seen an Alolan Raticate, I hadn't expected them to be so… large. The third and last way was how quickly and abruptly it was knocked out in front of me.

"Rockruff, Rock Throw!"

Suddenly the Raticate was barraged with rocks, crying out suddenly as it was thrown away from between me and the thugs. I gasped as yet another new pokemon burst onto the scene, landing right where the Raticate had once been moments ago. The thug barely had a chance to react before the new voice called out again.

"Now Tackle!"

The Raticate had barely gotten up before it was heatbutted right in its big belly. I saw the breath visibly knocked from the rat Pokemon as it tumbled ungracefully away, puffs of dust and dirt scattering in its path.. The new brown canine shaped pokemon stood triumphantly as the Raticate stayed still on the ground, unconscious.

"W-Wha! Ronny get back! We gotta scram!"

The thug quickly recalled his fainted Raticate and began running the other way. His buddy haphazardly followed him, picking up dust on the dirt trail as they ran away.

"Hey, wait for me fam!"

The scene was practically comical, they were such pushovers. At least they had the sense to run when they should. But the second they were gone, I put my head on a swivel, trying to find the source of the new voice. It didn't take long for me to find a figure hurriedly making its way from further down the path. I held onto my backpack, still a bit unnerved I addressed the newcomer.

"Who are you?"

The figure came closer into view as the moonlight faintly lit him. I sighed in relief.

"Well, I see you're getting familiar with the locals! I hope your flight wasn't too harsh."

I lowered my backpack, relaxing a bit.

"Goodness you scared me… It's nice to finally meet you professor."

Professor Kukui smiled and waved off the compliment.

"It's no problem. Though, I must apologize, I never intended for you to get caught up in any trouble. At least so soon."

I slung the backpack back over my shoulders and approached him slowly. The Rockruff seemed to trail happily behind me, proud of their accomplishment. As I stood in front of him I extended a hand.

"Alola, right?"

He smiled back and accepted my handshake vigorously.

"Haha, that's right! Alola to you, Ms. Brown. Let's walk, I'm sure you don't want to get into anymore, uhm, 'interactions' tonight. I'm just down the trail."

I nodded in response and began tailing him as we walked along. I couldn't help but throw Rockruff a passing glance every once and a while, a bit of childish glee warming my chest as I became more familiar with the Pokemon.

"So, if Daniel's been telling me the truth, you've had a rather crazy past few days. I'm sure you'll be happy to relax when we get to my place, so I figured we'd get all the talking done as soon as we can, if that's alright."

My shoulders and lower back seemed to sigh in relief.

"That sounds perfectly fine to me."

"So, first I'd like to apologize for the trouble out there."

I looked at him a bit, wondering what he had to say.

"Those guys are troublemakers. Part of a group of thugs that call themselves Team Skull. They're usually not too disruptive, but lately they've really been pushing their boundaries. It's only a matter of time before the authorities get to them, but unfortunately they're still around."

Rockruff barked their agreement as they walked alongside us. Professor Kukui responded to the Pokemon's interjection quickly.

"Oh yeah! You have Rockruff here to thank for noticing you were in trouble. He heard something was up and nearly bit a hole in my lab coat dragging me out the door!"

Rockruff barked his approval. I looked down to the Pokemon and smiled.

"Thanks, Rockruff."

We were nearing the Professor's beachside home. The house had a beautiful view, all of the wide moonlit sea and the soft incline of Melemele in view from it's spot on the sand. I suddenly found myself hoping my housing situation might take a bit longer. Kukui took my sightseeing as a chance to speak up again.

"This is my place! I made a guest bed in the living room, it's not much but I do hope it's enough for just a while."

I nodded in affirmation.

"It should be fine! It's only for a few days, I'm sure I'll manage."

We were soon at the door, followed closely by the professor's companion. Suddenly a question came to mind.

"Professor, why haven't you named Rockruff?"

The professor paused for a moment as he unlocked the door, seemingly in thought. As the door opened he responded.

"To be honest, I haven't come up with a name! But I suppose my excuse would be how new he is. I've actually only had him for a few weeks. That said, he gets along astoundingly. Aside from a few fits here and there, that is."

He ushered me inside, Rockruff and the cool Alolan air following me in. But I paused in awe as I took in the Professor's abode. It was a veritable laboratory on it's own! A large observatory tank took a centerpiece in the room as various instrumental devices and a large computer decorated the far walls past a rudimentary living room and kitchen. Machines lightly whirred and beeped occasionally showing signs of machine life in contrast to the aquatic Pokemon swimming lazily about in the observation tank.

"Don't stare too long now, you'll flatter me! Come on in, I'll show you around. But first I've got to make a call to the police, those Team Skull guys need to be addressed."

Kukui strolled past me and began making his way through the lab branching off to what seemed to be his desk to retrieve a phone. I put my jaw together and followed, letting my eyes carry me through the lab. I let Kukui's voice drown out as I looked at the readings on his various instruments, not understanding most of them but mesmerized nonetheless. I may have even peeked at a few of his notepads. I'd never have expected such an unassuming beachside shack to be such an academic treasure trove. Eventually Kukui hung up his phone and rejoined me as I lay transfixed on the centerpiece of the laboratory, its massive aquarium. Kukui spoke up a bit of a well deserved bragging tone flaring up in his voice.

"The observatory is connected to a natural tidepool. It took a lot of time to balance the pumps, but wild Pokemon can come and go as they please. I've even had a few Sharpedo squeeze in somehow!"

He tapped the thick glass for good measure, some of the occupants of the giant tank taking interest in the room's new occupants. Kukui then walked around his room, labelling a few instruments.

"This is the computerized barometer, the tide sensor and thermometer, the water sampler… Oh, and I suppose we'll be using this soon. The PC! I took the liberty of having one installed here, the walk into town was getting a bit much. I think you'll find it convenient for sure, haha."

I breathed a sigh of relief, I'd be able to rest a bit more tomorrow without a trip into town to use the Pokemon Center.

"That in mind, let's get to the important bit shall we? Grab a seat."

The Professor pulled two rolling chairs over and took a seat. Setting my pack behind the chair I followed suit and swallowed a bit, the stress of my task slowly trickling back in over my amazement with my new surroundings. Rockruff seemed to be fond of me though, and decided to take a seat next to me, eyeing me for attention.

"So, as we both know, Daniel entrusted a very important task to the both of us. I'm respecting his decision to keep the majority of the information about his project between you and him. But, from what I know, you'll definitely need use of my lab in the upcoming weeks, possibly months."

I shifted in my seat, it was probably unavoidable. Professor Kukui, rubbed the back of his head and sighed a bit.

"But, given the nature of my lab and the list of instruments I was given… I'm definitely lacking a bit in funds. He may have funding from his school but I'm no Mr. Moneybags! This may set things back a bit, but I'm sure we can get something worked out. My wife might even be able to help in that regard, but definitely only a little."

My mouth twisted as I strained to find an answer for our problem. My bank account would likely not survive even one of the purchases on Daniel's list, having seen the looks of his lab only a day ago.

"That aside, I don't think we can't get started. He informed me that a Porygon in your possession should be able to decrypt the documents he sent. We could at least get that out of the way so you can look them over, I'm sure the documents alone are a significantly large project to study."

I could feel my anxieties creeping up again. With all of the mention of the project, the flurry of thoughts about my friend, the task ahead, and the new region I couldn't help but wind myself up a bit. Rockruff seemed to notice, however, and barked placing a paw on my thigh. I smiled and offered a hand to reassure him. He sniffed it for a moment before deciding to let me pet him, which I happily obliged to. I guess I wouldn't be getting away with becoming too stressed.

"By the way, didn't you have something? Daniel told me you'd be carrying 'precious cargo'."

The Professor added air quotes for emphasis. I nodded.

"Yes actually. Let me get that."

I wanted to move but at this point Rockruff was half onto my chair, rubbing happily into my pets. I tried backing my hand off but suddenly he barked, a darker expression coming over the Pokemon's face as his paws glowed and he attacked the chair I was sitting in, sending it toppling over along with me, toppling comically over.

"Ah! Hey!"

"Rockruff! No!"

Kukui yelled out, chastising his partner. I recovered quickly however, it wasn't the first time a Pokemon had attacked me when I was tending to it. I rolled over onto my hands and knees and picked myself up, righting the chair as I watched the Rockruff, he seemed to be throwing quite a tantrum, looking at me as if I had slapped him. Rolling my eyes I grabbed my bag and began looking through it. As I rummaged through Kukui piped up, sounding a mix of apologetic and disappointed.

"I'm sorry Ms. Brown, he's still learning etiquette. Rockruff! You can't do that just because someone stops giving you attention!"

The Pokemon harrumphed and threw his snout up in tantrum.

"That's some attitude, you've got! That's it, no Mago berries for dessert!"

Rockruff seemed shocked for a second, but soon resumed his temper tantrum with renewed vigor as he stormed off into the living room. By then I'd found what I was looking for and had gone about removing a small case from my backpack.

"Don't worry about it too much Professor, it happens. And for the record, you can call me Angelie."

The Professor exhaled as he watched Rockruff storm off, then responded.

"And you can call me Kukui. Professor is too long to say anyhow."

I nodded and presented the box, placing it on my lap as I prepared to open it.

"Well, Daniel was right when he talked about 'precious cargo'."

I added my own air quotes this time.

"But honestly, I think it's an understatement. This stuff is a bit too valuable for me to carry comfortably."

A sudden flash of embarrassment rushed through me as I realized how eager I'd been to use my backpack as a flail less than 30 minutes ago. I shook it off quickly. Kukui looked impressed at my statement.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"I honestly don't know why he trusted it to me, but then again. The mail service isn't always the best at delivering things in a sensitive manner, so…"

"That's understandable."

"Yeah… But anyways, let me show you what I mean."

Carefully, I unlatched the case and flipped it open slowly, revealing a small opaque vial with a dropper lid. The sensitive liquid's color was hidden behind stained glass but I knew what was inside and shuddered a bit. I removed it carefully and set the case to the side. Kukui watched intently.

"This is what Daniel's been working on. I can't say much, but I know that he'd at least approve of you seeing it."

"It's not much to look at, haha."

Kukui joked and I couldn't help but smile a bit. Admittedly, it really wasn't much of a showcase.

"You're right, but it is light sensitive apparently. Can't afford having it exposed too much."

"I understand. Well, I guess I've had my fix of that. But before we wrap up for the night and get some much needed rest, how about you retrieve that Porygon? I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."

I nodded in agreement, but a level of hesitation accompanied my movements as I cautiously placed the sample back into its case. Would Bohr be ok? They'd been nice enough, but with Daniel gone who knows where, I wondered if they'd really accept me. Eventually, I'd placed the box back into my pack and stood up to follow Kukui to the PC.

"Just sign in and he should be there. I'll get the documents ready."

He turned the PC on and it began to boot, then walked over to his personal workstation and began typing away, sifting through his numerous downloads and papers of his own. I watched as the screen in front of me flickered to life, displaying a loading screen as the sign in page readied. It only took a moment for me to log in and the database began to register me to the computer. My box contained one Pokemon. I sighed a bit in relief, knowing Daniel had been ok enough to transfer Bohr to me. This was the only sign I'd gotten from him in the past day or so, but it felt like much longer. I clicked a few on-screen buttons and clicked the "add to party" box. The machine whirred, becoming more lively for a moment as the machine deposited a minimized pokeball into the compartment below the screen. I grabbed it and lifted it up, smiling a bit. In the end it would be nice to see Bohr, at the very least. I walked over to Kukui who seemed to be clicking a few prompts on a document reader, the contents of which, seemed to be hidden for the moment. Eventually a prompt came up to enter a code. Kukui turned to me.

"Alright, now seems like a good a time as any to say hi to Bohr, right?"

I nodded and tossed the ball on the ground. With a flash of light, the Porygon appeared. They looked around a moment then seemed to notice Kukui and I, beeping a greeting.

"Hey Bohr, I'm glad you made it safe."

I leaned down to extend a hand to the artificial Pokemon. They gladly beeped and took the chance to float up my arm and about my shoulders. I giggled as they danced around my head just like they'd always do. I internally breathed a sigh of relief. Kukui smiled as he watched on.

"I've never had a chance to see a Porygon up close, they seem like very interesting Pokemon! Lively too at that."

I let Bohr play around a moment as they swirled and twirled around my head, then coaxed them into greeting Kukui, who promptly received the same treatment. A minute or so later, I popped the question.

"Bohr, could you help out a moment? You have the key code for the documents right?"

Bohr stopped orbiting Kukui for a moment, beeping as they descended to the professor's desk. They scanned the screen for a moment before pausing over the keyboard, where they stared a moment. Bohr turned to us with a puzzled look. Which I returned for a moment before remembering the situation back at the Viridian lab.

"Oh, Kukui, do you have a data cord? Bohr needs it to use the computer."

The professor straightened before responding quickly, pulling one of the drawer's near his desk open, fishing around until he pulled out a short black cord.

"This works right?"

Bohr chirped in approval.

"Alright, as long as you don't go snooping around now."

Kukui handed Bohr the cable, which they gladly "bit" onto. The professor then plugged him into the computer. The Porygon buzzed a bit and the cursor moved on-screen. Selecting the text box, a large string of digits and letters suddenly appeared in box. The professor certainly wasn't messing around with security. The code was input and the document reader began to load. I felt my stomach tighten with anticipation.

As the document loaded I couldn't help but be a little underwhelmed. It looked just like any other research paper. A large cover page stared us in the face. I scrolled down a little, grabbing the mouse on the professor's desk. As the page counter popped up when I scrolled I felt my heart sink a little. Over 500 pages. Daniel really must have poured his soul into this, but I couldn't help but feel daunted. The next page I scrolled to however, held a message.

"These research papers are a cumulation of several years work into the nature of Pokemon and human communications. Please read with the understanding that your views on the current understanding of Pokemon and human physiology and psychology may be challenged and furthermore changed. I am proud to announce that the study is nearly concluded and my successful product awaits trial testing."

Separated from this main body of text there was a caveat.

"_LEGAL STATEMENT: These documents are intended to be viewed only by those involved, legally, in my research. Any distribution of these documents, in any fashion is strictly prohibited and punishable by law. The following individuals are permitted to access this document for full use."_

Two names occupied the list; Daniel and me.

I looked over at Kukui, he seemed a bit miffed with his eyes scanning the text still, but otherwise fine. I decided to poke fun.

"Well, looks like I have to arrest you."

Kukui looked at me surprised, then chuckled, his visage softening.

"Haha, I guess so. That's a real bummer though, I'd love to see what he's been working on all this time. With all I've seen so far I can't help but feel left out."

"Well, I won't tattle on you, but orders are orders."

I closed the document and spoke to Bohr.

"Can you download an unencrypted version of that document Bohr? I'd like to put it on my laptop."

He beeped in response as I saw a small loading screen appear on the professor's computer. I walked over to my bag and retrieved my laptop. I flipped it open and placed it on the table next to the Pokemon. When the loading screen wrapped up its processes I unplugged the data cord from the computer and transferred it to my own. It quickly sprung to life, running an uploading process as Bohr took control.

I let him be for a moment, turning to the professor.

"If it were my choice…"

"Don't worry about it too much Angelie, it's not your fault.", he cut me off. "In the end, its Daniel's decision. I'm sure you can handle whatever it is he has planned for you. Honestly, I couldn't come up with a better kickstart for a career either. You're a lucky woman."

I thought about it a moment.

"I certainly hope so."

* * *

I laid on my makeshift bed for the night. While Kukui lacked an actual spare bed, he had actually done an excellent job at turning his couch into one. Moonlight beamed on me and Bohr from the skylights and windows high up on the walls. The artificial Pokemon didn't actually sleep but they could pretend to. So naturally Bohr chose to keep me company for the night, which I was sure to thank them for, internally and externally. They camped on one of the armrests near my head and I silently hoped I wouldn't accidentally knock them off in my sleep. I'd never actually been a caretaker for a Pokemon before. A large part of me was still attached to the idea that Bohr was still Daniel's companion, but the small nagging part of me at the back of my head questioned if that was really true. I'd just have to wait.

I checked the time. Three forty-three o'clock in the morning.

Even though my body ached and my eyes were heavy, I couldn't fall asleep. I'd thought sleeping would be easy getting off my flight, but clearly I was wrong. I guess it was a mix of things keeping me up; stress, a new environment, or the sudden return of my chronic insomnia from freshman year could all be causes. Whatever it was, I didn't know, but having laid down for over an hour I was sick of doing nothing. I shuffled and threw my covers off, slowly sitting up. Bohr rustled to attention, looking a bit confused.

"Can't sleep. Might as well get busy with something."

He beeped what seemed to be a concerned response. I didn't quite understand though, Porygons were likely the hardest Pokemon to… An idea came to head.

"Don't worry about it too much Bohr, I'll be fine. But, I do have an idea on what to get up to."

* * *

"Couldn't wait could you?"

I sprang upright in my chair as I jolted awake. A small pool of saliva on the desk in front of me and a flat red mark on my face hard evidence that I'd fallen asleep at my computer last night. Bohr chirped, swirling around Kukui's head as I turned to look at him groggily.

"What time is it?"

The professor smiled and simply handed me a cup of coffee, which I accepted.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anything. It's still kind of early actually. Around, eight thirty if I had to guess. I figured you'd at least like to move to the couch. I can't imagine that desk is very comfortable."

I hadn't actually slept long, I'd spent until about five studying. Though, I didn't really get very far. Most of the stuff Daniel had been talking about were things I already knew. Basic human and pokemon cranial physiology, et cetera, et cetera. I was just about to get into the meat of the research when I fell asleep.

"Well, I'm more than awake now. I think I'll probably pick up from here."

"Well then, don't wear yourself out. I figured I'd head out to the market today, I need to pick up some groceries and meet a friend. You're more than free to tag along if you like."

I thought about it a moment. It was a toss up between seeing Alola up close in the sun for the first time or finally getting into the important parts of Daniel's magnum opus. It took me a moment, but I preferred the latter. Alola could wait, I was more of an inside person anyways.

"Go on ahead, I'm a bit too deep in to back out for now I'm afraid."

"Alright, that's fine. I'll pick you up some lunch if you like."

"That would be amazing, thank you. I'll pay you back."

"Oh don't worry about it. It's my treat."

He turned on his heel and walked away before I could get another comment out, swiftly grabbing his things as Rockruff padded along behind him.

"I'll see you later!"

And with that he was out the door. I rubbed my head in exasperation a bit. Can't blame the guy for trying to be nice. I certainly would have tried to do something similar if he was my guest. I sipped on the coffee I'd been handed, the warm drink slowly starting to kick me back into gear. Bohr seemed to be "sleeping" on the lab table a bit further down from me. I decided I might as well recall him, the morning would be slow. Though he was good company, I simply wanted to plow through the rest of this paper so I could become well acquainted enough with the subject to finally get started on some development. A bit of anxious excitement ran through me as I thought about it. I found Bohr's ball quickly enough and returned him before settling down in front of her laptop again, ready to grind.

* * *

About thirty minutes had passed and so far, I hated to admit… I was lost. Sure I had studied chemistry, but everything on the paper left the field of simple medical biochemistry and dived straight into incredibly complicated organic chemistry. Some of the chemical names ended up taking a page in themselves. I'd been frustratedly attempting to keep up, but had practically broken a sweat trying to comprehend it all. I was broken from this concentration suddenly, a small apple suddenly dropping on the table in front of me.

I turned quickly to see if Kukui had somehow come in while I was so absorbed in the documents, but was left with nothing to see. The apple had simply been tossed onto the desk. I hesitantly picked it up and inspected it, even electing to sniff it. I looked around again, inspecting every inch of the busy lab. I certainly didn't find any trees. I looked back to my hand and the apple was gone.

I blinked, a bit astounded for the moment. I inspected my hand. Nothing. Ok I think I'd had enough coffee. I scooted the half empty mug further away from me as I shook my head and returned to my research.

_Extended Storage Guidelines and Proper Chemical Washing_

I decided to read up on this bit as it seemed simpler and was probably a bit more important, given my circumstances. It wasn't five more minutes before another apple landed on the desk near me. This time I swiveled completely, ignoring the apple as I tried to find the source of the toss. Nothing again. Frustratedly, I turned back to my work, deciding I'd be ignoring any more of this apple nonsense.

_Storage in opaque, Class 4 Containers is mandatory. Specimens should be refrigerated at roughly 5°C with no edible substances or lipid soluble substances. Failure to meet these guidelines results in specimen decay with a shelf life of ~120 hours. Recovery of decayed specimens should be performed with a container transfer and immediate disposal of decayed material. _

Oh shit. The stuff had to be refrigerated! I read over the guidelines again, scrutinizing every detail. How long had it been room temperature? It was definitely not cold when I touched the bottle yesterday. I quickly ran to my backpack and removed the small box bringing it quickly back to the table. Why hadn't the box been refrigerated? Airport guidelines? I didn't know but I quickly retrieved the sample from the box. I placed it on the table near me and began scouring the lab for gloves and spare vials. I thankfully noted a small refrigerator in the corner of the room, likely for storing samples or the like. I couldn't seem to find a spare lab coat no matter how much I tore through Kukui's lab, apologizing internally for invading his privacy. I huffed frustratedly and elected to just be careful with the transfer, pajamas would have to do. I found a fume hood and put my gloves on, transfering the sample and the other bottle inside. I carefully unscrewed the lid of the sample, lifting the dropper out with care. The shimmering blue liquid dripped viscously off of the tip.

I bit my lip as I slowly began to transfer the precious sample over, making sure not even a drop landed on the cold slate of the bottom of the fume hood. Sighing, I finished the process. I went to look for a cap to the new container, but found none. I'd sworn I'd placed it right outside the fume hood, but it was gone. I felt my blood pressure spike.

I grabbed the transferred sample carefully out of the fume hood and made to turn towards the part of the lab where I could find a replacement cap. But you could imagine my surprise when I found myself tripping rather completely over myself, my foot catching on something behind me. I tried desperately to break my fall but, the vial in my hand demanded attention. I fell to the cold hard tile and felt my head smack the stone. Stars exploded in my vision as I suddenly lost grip on the vial. I watched in blurry slow motion as the blue liquid fell perilously out of the vial I'd let go of, rushing with the force of gravity as it splattered on my exposed right arm, drenching the skin with it's contents. My blood pulsed with adrenaline.

"N-No!"

I screamed out as I ignored the pain on the back of my head. I scrambled to pick up the spilled vial as I stood, holding my contaminated arm outstretched from my body. I hurriedly placed the now empty vial in the fume hood and looked back at the mess I'd created. Then at a Pokemon, snickering on the floor nearby. I looked at it, for a moment in my panic I was totally confused. Then I realized what it was. It was a Zorua! The Pokemon had been pranking me!

I went red.

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"

I screamed at the Tricky Fox Pokemon. The Pokemon quickly ceased it's snickering as it got a better look at me. I was positively irate, covered in the strange substance, and looking as if I wanted to strangle the small Pokemon alive. Which I did. It took every ounce of self restraint I had to not run up and try to punt the thing across the lab. Instead I elected to just approach, rage weighted steps echoing through the lab as I approached the fox. Its ears flattened and its tail tucked between its legs as it started to back away. I squat down to the Pokemon's level and began yelling once again. This time, a bit more contained than the last scream.

"Look here you little shit! That was not cool! Not! Cool!"

I ripped the glove off of my contaminated hand and showed the stupid fox my arm, practically shoving my hand in its face.

"This could be really bad! It could, it could…"

I was at a loss for words, I was too panicked and angry to continue. But I didn't even have time to mull over this catastrophe before my outstretched hand was bitten. With a jolt and a cry I looked to see the small fox had quite enthusiastically chomped down on my outstretched fingers. Out of force of habit I quickly reached out and jammed my fingers further down the Zorua's mouth, bopping the fox on it's sensitive nose, the go to maneuver for any nurse bitten by a Pokemon. It yelped and let go, scattering away as it took off. Jumping quickly onto the computer desk as it ran to the other side of the room, before jumping high up onto the rafters and out of an open, decorative window at the top of the vaulted ceiling.

"Zor! Zorua!", it yelled back at me as it ran away.

"Good riddance you asshole!"

I looked at my arm. The thing was a mess, covered in shimmering blue material and blood as my fingers began to bleed, small pinpricks from the bite beginning to leak. What was most alarming though is what was happening as the blue liquid stayed on my arm. It soaked in. My arm was like a dry towel to water as the liquid seeped in, the natural hue of my skin beginning to appear again as the liquid faded. I was mortified as I stood still watching the slow process with my mouth agape. It was a while before it was all gone, but even after that, I was in awe. I sort of just sat there for a moment, bleeding on the ground as I tried to kick myself back in gear.

I'd just absorbed nearly the entire sample. Into me. Inside my body. I stood slowly and went to the emergency shower. It was entirely redundant at this point, but as I pulled the lever I realized I was just doing what the instinctive, nurse side of me had ground into itself over all these years. I dried myself with a clean towel then carefully cleaned up my bite wound and wrapped it up. Next was the spill, at least the vial hadn't broken. I scrubbed the vent hood and carefully disposed of the sample in a special bag. I made a point to destroy it properly later as I sat down and looked back to the document on my laptop.

Dosage I had to check the dosage. I scrolled slowly with my opposite hand, cradling my right arm in my lap as I scoured the text.

_Dosage and Side Effects_

_Despite lack of trials, the estimated dosage of this compound on an average adult human is speculated to be roughly 5mg (1mL), taken in a daily ear injection. Treatment is not to last for more than one week and should be supervised by a medical professional. Side effects are still being researched but it is speculated that a patient may feel discomfort of the inner ear, nausea, vertigo, or disorientation as a product of the compound's operant function. Overdose should see the immediate washing or expulsion of the compound if possible. If already absorbed, treatment is limited and the user should seek immediate medical attention. Overdose effects are still being analysed. _

Right then and there I wanted to just give up. The project was off, I was going to call emergency services and go to the hospital. I could very well die if I didn't hand over the documents. The compound was unheard of, and without knowledge of its use and effects, the doctors could do nothing to help.

I got up and walked to my bag, pulling out my phone. I dialled the emergency line but I stopped. My finger hovered over the call button. Was I about to destroy Daniel's once and a lifetime accomplishment? Tension hung over me like a weighted blanket. I couldn't do it. Not now. I still felt fine. Even with a dose fifty times the recommended amount I was still ok. I didn't know how quickly it worked or even really how it worked to begin with. But I was still going, no headache, no nausea, nothing to show.

I slowly placed the phone back into my bag, my hand now throbbing with the dull pain of the bite wound as the adrenaline wore off. I would wait. At the first sign of something as small as a sneeze, I would go straight to the hospital. But for now, I would wait, and pray to any deity who was listening that I wasn't making a horrible mistake.

Every part of my nurse training was screaming at me, telling me I was doing about the dumbest thing I could. But I couldn't bring myself to do anything else. So instead, I sat right back down in my chair and I kept reading.

I didn't get very far as I kept staring at the same words over and over. My mind was running too fast to keep up. I closed my eyes and just sat in front of the screen, taking deep breaths.

_I will be ok._

I repeated the mantra over and over, working myself down. My heart rate eventually slowed and the adrenaline in my blood slowly dissipated. Minutes after minute passed as I sat, just trying to push the bad thoughts out of my head. It felt like hours, but I managed to relax, feeling calmer, rational thought return. But it wasn't a moment after I'd calmed myself down that the door opened.

"We're back!"

I turned in my chair to address the noise. Professor Kukui, in a casual fashion was walking across the living room to the kitchen. He had a few bags of what seemed to be groceries and take-out boxes. Rockruff barked a greeting too, but it seemed stuffed. Guess he was still miffed from yesterday.

"We brought you some food!"

I elected to meet the professor halfway. I pulled together my willpower as I braced myself for conversation, panic threatening to return. I strolled down the small stairs to the island kitchen.

"I hope a malasada isn't breaking any diet rules. I wanted to treat you to some Alolan specialties."

I gladly took the box he'd handed in my direction as I approached. Rockruff seemed to be eyeing it as it passed over and I placed it on the counter for now. I put on my most even tone of voice.

"No, I appreciate it."

As he put things away, he looked at me and smiled, before returning to putting things away.

"I hope you like it, they're a lot like donuts, but better. At least in my opinion. That aside, how's that paper going."

I felt my stomach do a leap, but stuffed my dread and decided to play it down.

"Oh, uh… Long."

As he finished putting the last of the groceries away, Kukui laughed.

"Haha! Yeah, I figured, bet it's a drag getting past a lot of that stuff. Five hundred pages right? Gosh, I don't think I've even read a book that long, much less a research paper."

I smiled, a bit exasperatedly.

"It's certainly a lot."

The professor opened his lunch, a malasada I assumed was similar to mine residing inside.

"Daniel certainly put a lot of work into that paper. I can't imagine all the stuff he did outside of writing."

Kukui didn't mean it, but he was pressing on all my frayed nerves right now. Guilt and panic knocked on the door of my conscious, but I kept it shut.

"Y-Yeah…", I sighed.

The professor had been right about to take a bite, but my strained tone seemed to catch him.

"Are you doing alright Angelie? You really haven't gotten much rest, maybe you should check out early tonight?"

I thought about it a moment, maybe the professor was right. But I couldn't just fall asleep with what had just happened.

"Yeah, but I still want to spend time with you guys. It's been all business so far."

The professor looked at her a moment, a flash of concern drowned quickly in soft understanding. At its core, what I said was true. I really did want to spend more time with the professor, but another part of me just wanted to run away, embarrassed and scared about what I'd done.

"Well, that sounds alright to me. You should have come with us earlier! We would have loved to spend some more time with you. That's ok though, we've got plenty of daylight! Do you want to see Iki town? It's not in the city, but I still love the place quite a bit. Maybe you could meet Hala as well!"

I looked at him quizzically. I had no idea who that was.

"Oh, yeah. Hala is this island's Kahuna! Sort of like a Gym Leader but a bit tougher, there are only four of them in Alola, so I suppose they have to be."

I nodded in affirmation. Maybe going out and doing something could get this all off my mind, I just hoped nothing would happen while I was out.

"Hala is a pretty nice guy and a good drinking buddy of mine! I'm sure he'd be glad to meet you and I can't think of a guy better to introduce you more thoroughly to Alolan customs."

"That sounds nice, actually. When did you want to do that?"

The professor took a bite of his malasada and I noticed I hadn't even reached for mine. When I looked to the countertop to grab I saw Rockruff around the corner of the countertop, just out of sight of Kukui, stretching out as he tried to reach the top of the counter. I eyed him suspiciously as he suddenly took notice of me. He locked eyes for a moment before huffing, throwing his snout up in the air and walking away. What a drama queen. The comical scene did manage to make me smile, even with all the worry tacked on my mind. I grabbed my malasada.

"I was thinking maybe in like twenty or so. We could go up, spend some time in Iki, say hi to Hala, come back, and have dinner. It will still be early, but like I said. You really should get some rest."

"Hmmm.", I agreed, taking a bite out of the pastry.

It was really quite tasty. Kukui was right, it was much better than a simple donut. As I brought my hand up Kukui caught sight of my bandaged hand.

"Oh, geez! What happened there?"

I paused a moment then elected to switch the malasada to my other hand. Somehow, I'd forgotten the bite entirely, it didn't even hurt anymore. Maybe all the stress was phasing it out. I flexed the fingers through the bandages, a dull pain lesser so than before greeted me. I elected to tell Kukui the "truth" of the situation.

"A wild zorua got in, he kept trying to prank me and I guess I got a little too irritated. It bit me when I got too close."

The professor nodded his head a look of realization washing over him.

"Oh! Sometimes Pokemon will come to visit, especially more intelligent ones. Sorry about that! I should have warned you."

He looked up to the vaulted ceiling.

"That Zorua must have been pretty curious about this place."

I grumbled a bit, I was still quite angry at it. I had to keep myself from going on an outburst.

"Yeah, I guess."

The professor seemed to notice my irritation and shrugged apologetically.

"I can close those windows if you like."

I shook my head.

"No don't worry about it."

"Alright! Well, let's finish our lunch. It's about time you got some fresh air, huh?"

I nodded and took another bite out of the malasada. I prayed I wouldn't get addicted to stress eating the delicious pastry.

* * *

The trail to Iki town was pretty well worn probably due to the plentiful traffic we'd seen on the way down. Many people seemed to be riding Tauros, biking, or simply walking into town. It was charming in a way to see less cars on the hills, nothing but a dirt and gravel path and their own power guiding them to and from the city.

The walk so far had been uneventful. We'd finished lunch and simply been on our way, Rockruff tailed behind us as he happily romped in the tall grass, chasing down what I'd been told were Pikipek and the occasional Pichu. Every time he caught my glance however, he'd seem to change course as if he hadn't been looking at me as well. The Pokemon sure knew how to hold a grudge. Bohr had been adamant about joining us when I released them from their ball, it didn't take any level of translation to make that connection. They happily chirped following behind the canine Pokemon. Part of me wondered what he would think if he had seen what happened in the lab earlier. I shook my head from the train of thought.

Though my legs were beginning to tire at the top of the incline, nothing seemed off about my body. I'd occasionally steal a pensive look at my arm. I'd since changed into more appropriate clothes, a simple t-shirt and cargo shorts. I wasn't exactly the pinnacle of style, but with my incredibly limited luggage, I had to be more practical than fashionable. I had made a note when sorting my clothes out last night that I'd go into town soon and spend some of my money on a nicer outfit.

"Iki town is just around the corner here, the view is astonishing. I'm sure you'll love it!"

Kukui had been commenting quietly on some of the local wildlife in the area. It seemed to be more of a spawning ground for the more established species on the island. Many of the Pokemon here were still being raised, parents watching from a distance. It seemed that even the Pokemon here had different customs when it came to their way of life. I couldn't help but feel like there was a level of trust and respect everyone here had for one another. It was certainly refreshing from the dog-eat-dog nature of Viridian. I'd never been one for that type of attitude so the lax nature Alola seemed to take to life managed to settle my nerves a bit. But I also couldn't help but feel worried for the region. It was easy enough to settle into the culture, but what would happen if some unstoppable conglomerate decided to stomp on it? I feared the region's introduction to the rest of the League.

"Here we are!"

We rounded the corner eventually, the incline more extreme than normal. I watched as the town slowly came into view, the quaint village's wooden curves and gate peeking over the grass and gravel of the path.

"Iki is one of the oldest towns on this island. It's definitely a bit more traditional when it comes to things, but trust me, the locals are super friendly."

As we finally made it up the incline I couldn't help but sigh a bit, my legs finally getting a moment to rest. At least the trip back down wouldn't be nearly as bad. Rockruff came bounding from the grass nearby to join us as we approached the town. Bohr followed closely and chose to chirp around me as they circled my head, I smiled up at them.

The town was getting more beautiful the closer we got, the ornate gate greeting us as we walked up the staircase to the village. People seemed to be mulling about, performing the day's chores. A few children seemed to be chasing themselves around town, Pokemon companions following them closely in what looked like an improvised game of tag. Their happiness was infectious. I was a bit jealous. A few of the locals seemed to recognize the professor as he walked through town. Alola's were exchanged plenty of times, and though nobody seemed to know me, I was greeted from a distance just the same as the professor. I tried my best to return the jovial greetings.

One of the children in the village was running a little further behind the group of friends from before. The second the young boy saw Kukui, however, he broke off from the group. He came to a screeching halt right in front of us and immediately presented a berry, bruised and battered from apparently being in his pocket a while.

"Professor! What berry is this!"

The kid's face beamed as he awaited an answer. The berry was green, slightly lumpy and though a bit battered, one of the easier ones to professor smiled and leaned down to the kid's level, eying the berry closely. He shook his head after a moment of thought, plastering an exaggerated look of confusion on his face. I looked at him incredulously until he spoke up.

"I don't know! Why don't you ask my friend? She knows a lot about berries too, I'm sure."

The kid immediately shifted his attention to me and then shoved the berry in my direction, giving me a better look. It was very obviously a Lum berry, but I knew what the professor was up to. I squatted down and took the berry carefully from the child, turning it over in "careful" investigation. All the while the child seemed to be transfixed on Bohr, who chirped happily at the young boy. I plastered a look of understanding on my face as I handed it back to the child.

"That's a Lum berry! You can use it to help your Pokemon when it's they're really hurt or confused."

I put on my best smile for the child as his face brightened up.

"Cool! I'm gonna bring it to Mom so we can give it to Peach! I hope your Pokemon gets better!"

I was about to correct him when he quickly spun around and ran off. I pushed myself back up, giving a look to Kukui. The kid obviously had never seen a Porygon before.

"Gotta introduce you to the locals somehow, right? They'll learn about Bohr later I guess, haha!"

He continued walking, accomplished smile on his face. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. The kid was cute at least.

We spent a while performing the same drill. A few of the other kids saw what their friend had done earlier and came over with new berries, which I happily obliged in answering their questions about. They eventually learned what kind of Pokemon Bohr was and after some convincing, I allowed them to play with the artificial Pokemon. Bohr seemed happy to oblige and was soon circling around them, smart enough to stay out of arm's reach. They were better with children than I expected. Rockruff however, seemed more sour than ever. He stomped heavily along, upset at the lack of attention. I offered to give him another head rub but he shied away, still holding a grudge.

We spent another twenty or so minutes in town, simply mulling about. I shook a few hands with the locals, many of them parents of the kids I'd been playing with. I silently thanked Kukui for the smooth introduction. They all seemed thankful their kids were a bit more distracted. It wasn't long until we came across a large stage however. Bohr had eventually floated back, looking a tad worn but otherwise as cheery as ever. I barely caught Rockruff sticking out his tongue at the artificial Pokemon.

"This is the Battle Stage, anyone completing the island trial has to battle the Island Kahuna here in Iki town. It's usually quite the event and this small town fills up quite a bit. I hope you get to watch a battle here sometime! They're quite spectacular."

I imagined a battle on the sizeable stage. It would indeed be quite spectacular. The backdrop of the forest in the background, the town circling the competitors, and the cheers of the crowd. I couldn't help but imagine it fondly.

We eventually passed the stage and made our way to our true destination. A large, almost inn-like hut signified we'd arrived at Hala's home. The professor walked up the steps slowly and paused before knocking on the door, looking back at me.

"I'm excited for you to meet Hala. Remember to show him a little more respect than the townsfolk, he's really important around here. Just follow my lead."

I nodded and rubbed my fingertips together nervously, my injured hand sending a dull throb of pain up my arm. Kukui turned to knock, then suddenly banged on the door, hard.

"Open up you fat bastard!"

I stared at him as if he had Wurmples sticking out of his ears. I would most definitely not be taking his lead.

There was a long pause as Kukui waited patiently, crossing his arms as he smirked in my direction. He knew what he was doing, I rolled my eyes.

There were heavy footsteps behind the door and suddenly the door flung open to reveal one of the largest men I'd ever seen, barefoot with a large scowl on his face. The second he laid eyes on the professor however, his face lit up. Wordlessly he grabbed the professor by the shoulders and sucked him into a bone crushing hug, the professor wheezed, eyes practically popping out as the Bouffalant of a man squeezed him tight.

"Kukui! You limp legged son-of-a-bitch! How are you?"

"D-Doin fine… Let go you, m-muscle brain."

The Kahuna released him slowly and allowed the professor to take a breather. I took the moment to look over the man. He was just as large as before, giant rope encircling his waist and an oversized floral shirt over his shoulders. The man had an impressive, confident stature. He definitely held the air of his position.

"Now what did you bring me?"

He shifted his gaze to me. I almost jumped.

"Another challenger?"

I shook my head quickly.

"N-no!"

The professor took over for me from there.

"No, you brute. She's the research assistant I was talking about yesterday!"

Hala took a closer look at me from the doorway, peering as if I was far away.

"Oh! Now that you bring it up she doesn't much look like a Trial goer to me."

I shifted, putting my arms on my waist. I didn't know how to take the comment.

"No, I'm just here to show her around town. Figured, I'd have to show her to you as well!"

"You make it sound like I'm second rate, noodle arms!"

The professor chuckled.

"Hardly, now, Angelie, come on up!"

I slowly ascended the steps to the doorway. I stuck my hand out, in greeting.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Angelie, I'll be working with the professor for a while here in Alola."

I put on my most enthusiastic greeting but felt my heart sink when it seemed to bounce right off the Kahuna. He stared at me stone faced as he scrutinized my every detail. I stood wordlessly for a few seconds before the Kahuna suddenly took my hand, held it for a second in a handshake, then burst out into a bright smile and sucked me into a similar, bone crushing hug. I felt the air in my lungs leave me entirely as I squeaked. Bohr chirped in surprise as they floated back from the embrace.

"Alola, Angie! It's a pleasure to meet you! I like your spunk!"

I choked for a few moments, wanting to correct him on my name but unable to, before being released from the hug. Kukui looked at me, holding back a laugh.

"You get used to it… Sort of."

Shook myself out as Hala responded.

"I'm glad my buddy here won't be all by his lonesome in that shack any more. No offense Rockruff."

Rockruff barked back in response. Kukui was first to speak next.

"So, Hala. I have been meaning to talk to you about a few things. I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip the drinks this afternoon, this one is going to be a little more business focused."

The Kahuna crossed his arms, a lighter scowl crossing his mustached face.

"I see. Come on inside then, we should talk in private."

The Kahuna turned around and beckoned us inside, leaving the large door open. I followed them in and carefully closed the door behind. I noticed Kukui was removing his shoes. I followed suit closely, leaving my sneakers at the atrium.

The large house was quite homely, if a bit sparse. There was a lot of room to move around, and the hallways seemed more suited for a Snorlax than a person. We didn't travel far, simply entering the home and walking straight to a large table. Hala took a seat at the head chair and Kukui followed, choosing a spot next to him on the side. I walked around and mirrored Kukui. Rockruff and Bohr both seemed to want to play along as well, taking a seat next to us. After everyone had settled, Hala spoke up.

"So what is it you have for me, Kukui."

The professor leaned on the table, preparing for a long discussion.

"Skull mostly. Though there's a bit more to it this time."

Hala raised an eyebrow.

"Skull is normally old news, we're doing our best as Kahunas to handle the situation. I'm interested to see what it is you have to say."

The professor sighed.

"They are getting more ballsy, Hala. They were on Route One last night. My assistant here ran into them. I was lucky Rockruff got me out of the house in time."

Rockruff barked his approval, looking rather proud of himself. I prepared to be more involved in the conversation, a bit of butterflies rousing in my stomach. I just hoped my poor adrenal glands wouldn't be shrivelled up by the end of today.

"Is that so? This is news to me, thank you Kukui. What did you catch?"

"Unfortunately, not enough to give a detailed report. But my friend here is probably the best one to ask. I figured the information would be best given to the highest authority."

Hala turned to me expectantly, I shuffled as I prepared to speak.

"I'd just gotten out from the airport. I got a ride to the coffee shop in Hau'oli, I think at the base of Route One."

Hala nodded.

"I know the one."

"I was walking up the trail as I was just coming up to Kukui's cabin. It was very late, they seemed to be harrassing me for a 'trail tax'. They obviously couldn't have been older than twenty and they were easily irritable. One of them tried to attack me with a Ratticate. Though, that was when Kukui and Rockruff stepped in."

I looked at Rockruff directly this time. He perked his ears for a moment, but eventually shying away, in a weaker pout this time. He still wasn't over things completely. I smirked.

Hala was scowling when I looked back, this time, darker than before. It seems this was a bit more personal than I thought.

"I've been more willing to forgive the more juvenile crimes Team Skull has been up to and to leave that to local authorities, but this is highway robbery. If this is occurring elsewhere it needs to be handled swiftly. I will see that the other Kahunas are notified. If it becomes more of an issue, I may even call upon the Totem Pokemon."

The professor seemed a bit surprised.

"That's a little extreme don't you think, Hala? They're just thugs after all."

Hala turned his gaze towards Kukui.

"I've been around for a long time Kukui. You may not have dealt with organized crime before, but I have. The last thing we should do is hold back, I've been lenient for too long already."

Kukui resigned himself.

"Whatever you think is best."

Hala nodded slowly.

"What else do you have for me."

Kukui tapped his fingers on the table a moment.

"I've been tracking the movement of Pokemon on the island for a while now. I'm sure you're aware of the regular patterns?"

Hala nodded a bit more astutely this time.

"Well, I hate to say that something is explicitly wrong. But this year, I'm not so sure what to expect. The patterns have been off. What this indicates, I have no idea, it's much too early to tell. Pikipek and Toucannon have been more prevalent this year. I don't know why, but something tells me they're being displaced. This could have implications for all the islands, Hala."

I thought about what Kukui was saying. Displacement? This could mean a lot of things, I can understand why he was being vague. Internally, I hoped it was a more natural reason. Habitat destruction was becoming all too common nowadays. I tried to clench my fists in thought, but I was hastily reminded of my hand. I felt my thoughts flash to the lab. What if that Zorua was displaced? I almost felt bad for scolding it. Almost. I looked over my arm carefully. I was still ok, and I hoped it would stay that way.

"I'll be sure to bring this up to the other Kahunas. If they have anything to tell you, I will share it."

Kukui and Hala began to discuss things more closely. I lost track of what they conversed rather quickly. Kukui seemed to be giving him a rather detailed gist of his recent discoveries. I would normally be more involved in the discussion, but I found myself more distracted than usual. I opted to take in the Kahuna's massive home more closely. I found myself looking out the window over a serene view of the Hau'oli cityscape and beach line. I hadn't been able to fully appreciate the beauty Alola had to offer until this afternoon, but I certainly found it captivating. The water was practically made of crystal and the beaches boasted nearly white, flawless sand. I watched people mull about like ants for quite a while, how long it was, I wasn't sure, but I was snapped out of my daze as I was suddenly addressed.

"Angie, are you alright?"

The Kahuna spoke out to me. I restrained myself from correcting him again. Shaking my head and looking back towards him.

"I've been told you had a rather rough past day or so. If you'd like, both me and Kukui might be talking longer than we expected. You're more than welcome to take your leave, if you want."

The man gave me a scrutinizing gaze. It seemed his suggestion was more of a recommendation than anything. I felt a wave of embarrassment as my face flushed, as I thought about how I somehow disrespected him. Maybe it was my absence from the conversation. I didn't question it too long.

"I-I think I will. Thank you for having me, Kahuna."

He nodded silently as I picked myself up. Bohr chirped as he followed. I began making my way to the exit. Kukui called out behind me.

"We won't be too long! I'll be back later!"

He seemed to be trying to cheer me up. I simply looked back and nodded. I put my shoes back on and exited, carefully shutting the door behind me. I stood for a moment at the top of Hala's stairs. That was so stupid! Why'd I have to let myself get distracted like that? I shook my head as I descended the stairs. It was still shining bright outside and people were still out and about. I spoke to Bohr as we began walking through town.

"Well, Bohr. I don't think I made the best impression."

He chirped, seemingly confused.

"Did you see the look he gave me? I don't think I was particularly welcome in that moment."

He chirped indifferently.

"Whatever, I just hope he doesn't stay mad. I don't want to be on his bad side."

Bohr seemed quite nonchalant about it as they floated lazily around me as I made my way to the edge of town. I was lucky that the kid's weren't around to stop and ask me questions in this mood.

I looked over the view before I left the gate. Iki was truly a beautiful town. I exhaled, if it hadn't been suddenly soured I think my mood might have been significantly improved. Maybe Hala was right too, I was honestly exhausted. My legs still ached from the climb up. I was thankful I didn't have to put in as much effort going town.

I walked for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of my sneakers crunching against the dirt and gravel. I'd sneak glances into the tall grass nearby in hopes of spotting a few wild Pokemon. I guessed I was a bit more lucky in that regard, a few Pikipek, Pichu, Caterpie, and Rattata would occasionally pop out into view, probably foraging for berries or roots and the like. I found the appearance of the Rattata a bit silly in contrast to that of the Kanto variety. It almost looked like they had a dastardly mustache on their snouts.

I kept walking for a while before someone called out to me.

"Hey! Hey you!"

I raised my head to attention, searching for the source of the voice. It sounded like a young man coming from the tall grass. I looked out over the small field in hopes of finding the person. I saw nothing. Approaching slowly I looked out over the field a little closer, hoping to find an indent in the field, where they possibly may have been laying down. Immediately, I thought it might be another prank. Lips pursed and arms crossed I called out. I'd had quite enough practical jokes for a while.

"Hey! Are you in there? Come on out. I don't have time for jokes right now."

There was no response for a second. Bohr floated around my head and seemed to be looking at me, a bit puzzled. I was about to just turn and start walking again when suddenly a Rattata popped out of the grass. I jumped back in shock, nearly falling over.

"Ha! Can't run now, human! You're done for! Take me on if you dare!"

I kept backpedaling in shock. The Rattata was talking! I rapidly shook my head and blinked. Trying to find out if I was hallucinating. The Rattata was still standing there, a confident smirk plastered on its face. I yelled back.

"You talked! How did you do that!?"

Bohr ceased his methodical circling to look at me, even more confused. He wasn't taking the Rattata seriously until just now it seemed, looking expectantly between the Rattata and I.

"Rat! Rattata rat!"

I exhaled, letting loose a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. I rubbed the back of my head. I'd been more surprised than anything. I began to plan my exit.

"Listen, I don't know what came over me, but I can't fight right now. Sorry Rattata."

"Rattata! Rat rat rattata!"

I felt more reassured the second time I heard the Pokemon speak. I began to step around the Pokemon, but was cut off as it again blocked my path. Exhaling, I used one of my old techniques for getting out of wild pokemon encounters, at least with intelligent species.

"Alright, you got me. I can't beat you, so I guess I'll just have to tell you were my secret stash of berries are."

The Pokemon paused a bit, then their jaw fell agape before regaining composure, putting on their confident and powerful act again.

"Rat? Rat rattata rat!"

Guessing, I followed up with the second part of my ruse.

"Yeah, I'm not kidding. You really win, my secret stash is just up the road back that way. I'm sure you can stiff it out if you pay really close attention."

I pointed back down the way I came, acting defeated and exasperated to accentuate my bluff. It really wasn't hard with how exhausted I already was. The Rattata smirked and turned. I'd tricked him.

"Rat, rattata!"

With that the rat Pokemon bounded off into the grass again. I smirked, the trick never got old, and seemed to work well on younger or lower level pokemon. This time I couldn't help but laugh a little harder than usual, snickering as I watched it bound through the grass as I walked away. I had no clue what made it funnier than usual, but I was happy my ruse had gone through. Even if I had heard the Pokemon's voice.

The laughter didn't last long. I felt anxiety creep up from my gut again. I hoped that it was just exhaustion. I really, really did. Bohr opted to return to his bubbly nature rather quickly, shrugging off the whole event.

I descended the hill without another word.


	3. Heavy Breath

**A.N. There will be nausea, vomiting, non-violence related blood, and body horror in this chapter. In order to avoid breaking the flow of the story, please look for ***. This will indicate that the ahead scene has aforementioned imagery, look for *** again to resume reading. I strongly encourage that you don't skip this portion, but if you are sensitive to said content consider yourself warned.**

Chapter 3 - Heavy Breath

Nine thirty-seven. Twenty two seconds. Twenty three. Twenty four.

Angelie watched the clock anxiously, and cracked her knuckles every so often. Her right hand wasn't sore anymore and the blood had stopped. Her mind raced.

She didn't think Kukui had caught on. They'd shared lunch, and though there was a bit of tension with his Rockruff, the afternoon was otherwise as normal as it could be. Iki had been quite the adventure, but she feared that her impression on Hala might have been lackluster. And the incident on Route One… She cracked her knuckles harder.

A bit of her had been allowed to forget about it in the amount of time that had passed since the accident. But now as she carefully eyed her right arm in the filtered moonlight that spilled into the living room, she couldn't help but fret.

After they'd gotten back (and after making a snack and leaving a little cash on the counter to pay back Kukui) Bohr had been quick to go into rest mode. She returned him soon after, and in her plentiful time to worry, she'd forgotten about it. From the living room Angelie tried to peer into the lab. She could see their pokeball on the counter, on the other side of the lab, but at the moment she didn't want to touch it. Bohr was smarter than they looked and she didn't doubt that he'd pick up on things in the state she was in.

She thought about Daniel next. He'd told her that he wouldn't be far behind, but the way he said it made her doubt the honesty of his words. She wanted to call him and see if he was ok, but he'd told her not to. She wanted to vent, to tell him that everything had gone wrong. These past few days had spiraled so far out of control that all she wanted to do was sleep it off and wake up when all of it had blown over and she could return to being a normal nurse. She cursed myself for even deciding to take the project

Angelie covered her face with her palms. She was too tired to even get upset, but the dull panic and her shriveled adrenal glands still managed to pump out enough adrenaline to make her sick to the stomach. She dragged her palms off of her face. Sleep. She needed to sleep.

Kukui was still gone. Angelie was thankful that she didn't have to put up a mask at the very least.

Two hours had passed of Angelie's stomach twisting into knots, head feverishly reliving the spill. She wanted to strangle the Zorua.

Angelie sat up slowly and shifted to a hunched sitting position on the couch. At this point she was considering a hammer, if just to knock herself out. She wondered if Kukui had any melatonin. She racked her brain for answers.

_Berries._

Many of the same products used in modern medicines were found in berries. Potions we're simply Oran and Sitrus extracts in aerosols at the end of the day. Even some human medicines were also developed from berries.

Angelie worked her strained head for more data. Cheri berries contained a mild sedative and muscle relaxant. Lum berries, like the one that small child had shown her earlier, contained a wider range of mild sedatives that came in to play in higher dosages. Most of the passive compounds in these fruits were more readily metabolized by Pokemon, but the dosage would have to be upped if they were to be used by humans without side effect. All that was required was that they be concentrated.

Angelie looked back to the lab.

Not a problem.

* * *

The night sky was about as clear as it was the day Angelie had came in, fresh sea breeze and cool air blowing calmly over Route One. Berries were quite plentiful in Alola, much to Angelie's luck. She'd emptied her backpack before she left, now full of Cheri and Lum berries.

Ten of each would be plenty by her calculations. It'd only taken a quick search online to find out the rough approximation of the amounts of active ingredients in each berry. Things had gone off without so much of a hitch, the serene night making the trip back quite enjoyable, despite the ache in Angelie's legs.

"Hey! Hey you!"

She stopped.

"Yeah! I remember you! Liar!"

Angelie turned, heart skipping a beat as she looked to the tall grass. A familiar mustached visage greeted her.

"There wasn't any berries you idiot! Now you're gonna pay!"

The Rattata skittered quickly out of the grass and onto the path, kicking up dirt and gravel as it bared its massive incisors. Angelie was silent, gripping the straps of her backpack as if it was her only handle on reality.

"What, Meowth got your tongue? Petrified at the sight of me? Well get used to it, cause it's all you're gonna see when I beat you to a pulp! Nobody gets away with tricking the Great Gondor!"

She croaked out a reluctant response. Her head was grinding again.

"W-what do you mean?"

'Gondor' seemed to reel back a bit, before bursting back into his tirade.

"Are you thick!? That berry stash you told me about was bogus! False! Fabricated! Nothing there at all!"

Grasping at her thoughts, Angelie struggled to put together an excuse through a storm of emotions. She doubled down.

"That's... impossible! I've been working on that stash forever! You must have missed it."

The Rattata seemed to take particular offense to that as it stamped the ground, practically puffing smoke.

"Do I look gullible to you?! I looked everywhere, there was nothing! Not a single spot in Grassy Groves down the human path had a stash!"

She almost hiccuped on the term 'Grassy Groves' but she made the connection to Route One. Her head swirled and she almost felt nauseous, but the Rattata was still pressuring her. She needed another out.

"Even underground?"

"No!- Wait."

The 'Gondor' cut himself off, deflating a moment. Angelie capitalized on his hesitation.

"Did you think I'd leave it out in the open? I buried the stash near one of the human fence posts at the end of the path."

"..."

The Rattata seemed as furious as before after a few moments of fuming to himself, face slowly reddening.

"N-no! Why would I think of that?! What a stupid idea! You're stupid for putting it there!"

"Well, sorry I didn't mention it before. But that's where it is. You can still go find it if you want."

The Rattata seemed about ready to explode after a few seconds. And that's exactly what he did.

"Well maybe I will! I'm gonna go and prove you wrong, you stinking liar! You're on thin ice! If I catch you on my turf again you're dead meat! You hear me, you may be smart for a human, but you'll be done for!"

The rat Pokemon huffed and stomped off, kicking up more dust than was entirely necessary as he stormed off. Angelie put a hand to her head. She felt a migraine coming on. Turning on her heel she flew down the path.

* * *

Angelie closed the door to the professor's beach home carefully as she entered, still empty and lifeless as it had been when she left. She traversed the living room into the kitchen where she placed her berry-filled backpack. Her hand was trembling as it left the strap.

She was surprised her brain still had any juice left in it to process her emotions but the migraine that ran through her head proved the contrary. Excitement, anticipation, and worry all tingled the back of her head as she flipped the lights on and placed the berries on the counter.

Gondor's words had been harsh and crude, but he'd spoken completely intelligibly. She thought about how well she'd understood as she washed the berries, picking the stems. She played the scene back as she blended the berries by hand, mashing them into a large container. It was almost dream like, as if she had been talking to another person. She brought the container to the lab where she washed the mix with water. A singular thought ran through her head, more pointed than the rest.

_It worked._

The berry mix strained. Leaving only a condensed, murky concentrate behind as it finished up.

Part of her had still doubted Daniel, even after his demonstration a few days ago. Not understanding Pokemon was an unfortunate blockade that was ingrained into society, commonplace for thousands of years. But she'd just bulldozed it without so much as a hiccup. Part of her still didn't believe it, even after experiencing it, the stubborn rubble of that mental roadblock screamed in the back of her head.

Angelie sighed shakily. At least after this was finished, she could sleep. She shuddered at the thought, eyes aching as the last of the concentrate slowly dripped into the drinking glass.

She briefly contemplated letting Bohr out of their ball as it eyed her, further down the counter. She wondered what their computerized beeps and chirps would really sound like, but that would be a bad idea. They would know.

As the last drop finally descended into the cup, she took it from the funnel and stopped the filter. She drinked it greedily as she walked to the kitchen, the sweet taste tinged with the sourness of concentrated chemicals. She washed the glass and placed it back in the cupboard.

It was back to the couch then, slowly reclining and letting the juice settle in her stomach. She felt it churn, her diet having been slim for the most part. Her migraine slowly started to wane. A sigh escaped as she felt relaxation wash over her, knots in her muscles unwinding. Her eyelids grew heavy.

* * *

"_Angie, what is this?"_

_The kitchen had been quiet for a while, the loud rattle of cookware and sizzle of food on a skillet long gone, but the scents of a meal still lingered. Instead a child sat in the middle of a living room, alerted by a voice. _

"_It's from the school! They gave it to everyone today! We're gonna go on a field trip to Viridian Forest!" _

_There was silence for a bit, then the voice returned._

"_... Angie, no. This is not good for you. I've told you before."_

_The child seemed to deflate, before letting out a whine._

"_But… I really want to go! They said we can see some Pokemon! They're even gonna bring a Train-"_

"_No!"_

_The voice echoed through the room. A cavernous silence followed. Breath hitched on the child's mouth like it was snagged on sharp ice._

"_No. No more of this nonsense. No more…"_

_There were butterflies in the child's stomach and heavy breath, torn by the ice._

* * *

Angelie snapped up, wheezing. She was on fire. Sweat stained the sheets as her stomach set ablaze. It was late, still dark in the room and deadly silent. Her stomach jumped as she brought a hand to her mouth, gagging as bile burned her throat. She stumbled off of the couch. Her legs were numb and tingling, they snagged on the covers as she collapsed down, falling to her hands and knees. Her stomach did another tumbling routine as fire shot up her esophagus. She pursed her lips shut as puke pooled in her mouth, she haphazardly picked herself up, scattering items on the coffee table as she rushed to get back on her feet in an attempt to stumble into the kitchen. She barely made it to the sink before another heated wave of nausea crushed her middle, forcing her to spill all of the contents of her stomach into the sink. Her arms shook weakly and her legs threatened to collapse under her as she heaved, the reddish purple drink flying out. She whimpered as her middle ceased to let up, even after she was emptied completely. Her face and sinuses burned with searing stomach acids as tears streamed down her face.

She shakily turned the sink on in an attempt to flush away the excretion, but was thwarted. As soon as she managed to get the sink running her legs gave out, crumpling beneath her as she was left scrambling for grip on the counter. Her already shaking arms couldn't help and she found herself descending straight onto the granite, chin crashing hard onto the unforgiving rock. She felt her chin split as she fell ungracefully to the floor. But the pain paled in comparison to the fire inside. She was left groaning, squeaking in desperation as she writhed weakly on the floor, blood leaking from her chin as she uselessly attempted to crawl away from the inescapable flames that were eating her inside out.

Her muscles writhed and screamed. Abs she didn't know she had threatened to rip themselves to shreds, if only to get away from the pain. Then she felt her spine snap. Her eyes widened and her mouth erupted into a silent cry, holding for a moment then breaking into a bloodcurdling scream. She felt her throat threaten to tear, but didn't let up. She felt her spine crack again and again as silent pleas for mercy felt onto cold tile.

No one was there to hear. Her tingling extremities, despite having the advantage of being numbed and useless, cracked and snapped. She wanted to scream more, but felt her voice crack and give out, silence returning to the room as she was left to listen, in horror, as her body contorted and snapped against her will. Sickening crunches and cracks echoed through the kitchen as she cried, wide eyed and terrified, on the floor. Each and every second she beared she pleaded wordlessly that she'd simply fall unconscious, that she'd go into shock and shut down. But she didn't. She was forced to endure as every second that passed felt like a minute in hell.

After a while, she stopped crying. She felt her rationality on the edge of a cliff threatening to hurl itself into a pit of insanity as she took the fire like blows. Every second it edged closer, closer still until it looked over. For the briefest moment, she lost it. She laughed as a bone in her wrist locked into place, in a new and foreign position. She was just crazy enough in the moment to look down and watch the horror.

It wasn't a hand.

Angelie felt a crack at the base of her skull. She welcomed unconsciousness.

* * *

Rockruff barked. Kukui checked the time for the fifth time tonight. Three forty-four. Hala sighed.

"We still have more to talk about Kukui. Both you and I know that and no amount of clock-checking will make it go faster."

Kukui sighed.

"Can't blame me for trying, Hala. Unlike you, I've got a guest to attend to."

The Kahuna frowned a bit.

"She can wait."

Kukui groaned, a bit more exasperatedly this time before snapping back to the Kahuna.

"Can she though? The poor girl was running on fumes the last time I saw her! Couldn't you have been a bit more sensitive about it?"

The Kahuna was unfazed by the professor's tone.

"Subtlety is not my strong suit Kukui, that's the best I could do without bringing up suspicion."

The professor waved off the comment.

"Yeah, yeah. I… You know what. Let's get to the last point here why don't we, so I can have something solid to get from this talk."

The Kahuna, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, the wooden furniture creaking a bit.

"I'm still listening."

Kukui nodded before taking a breath and speaking.

"The Island Council, Guardians, and Oak. We both know how they fall into place here. But I have my doubts. Something's missing here and I don't like it."

"What is that supposed to mean Kukui?"

"It means that we're missing a variable. Just because we think it's reluctance from the Guardians doesn't mean that's the end-all-be-all of this. You've got to see this, Hala."

"I think you're over complicating it Kukui. This isn't the first time we've seen them do exactly this. Do you know how tough it was convincing them to let _colonists_ in?"

"That is the wrong word Hala, and you know it."

The Kahuna sat unmoved.

"Listen, I want you to keep an open mind about this. We can't make assumptions with what we have, I'm telling you it's not enough."

Hala tightened his already crossed arms as his scowl deepened.

"Don't overstep your boundaries, professor."

Kukui stopped for a moment, stunned. It had been a long time since he'd heard that. He said nothing. Hala filled the silence.

"Maybe it's best if you do go ahead and leave, you were in such a hurry not a moment ago."

Kukui felt his anger rise, but he stuffed it. He instead calmly stood up and pushed his seat back in.

"Maybe so."

Rockruff followed suit slowly, seeming to shrink out of the Kahunas stern gaze, even if it was fixed wholly on Kukui. The professor began to walk to the door, but called out as he put on his sandals.

"I hope the Council isn't full of yes-men, for your sake."

And with that he left, the large door shutting behind him with a thud as Rockruff closely followed.

He shouldn't have said that and he knew it. But what was he supposed to do? Lay down and take it? The Kahuna had always been notoriously stubborn, but this was an all time high. He and his wife had been following this just as closely as any of the Kahunas, possibly closer. Something different was happening and he knew it.

Kukui shook his head as he descended the porch and traversed the plaza, passing by the Battle Stage. He looked across into the forest backing the stage and thought about what Tapu Koko was up to.

Where had they gone? He didn't know, but it hadn't been long. Right now all this did was add to his list of burdens to bear.

Would it be so hard for Hala to up and agree with him for once? One of these days he'd have to take up wrestling and start beating things into him with how hard it's been getting. Rockruff barked as he padded along next to the professor, tilting his head to the side as Kukui looked down to the canine Pokemon.

"It's nothing Rockruff… Geez I need to give you a name."

The Pokemon seemed to perk at the response a bit.

"Maybe it'll help take my mind off of things, hmm? What do you think? Should we try some names?"

The Pokemon bounced as he nodded his approval. Kukui chuckled.

"Haha, okay. You nod when you hear something you really like. Sound good? It can be your own personal nickname."

Rockruff nodded happily as they passed some of the quiet houses.

"Alright, how about…"

"Sylvester."

A pretty harsh shake of the head. The professor sighed, Rockruff had been more picky than he'd expected. He'd even had to resort to going down the alphabet at this rate. He was rapidly running out of ideas.

"Alright, I admit, that one really isn't fitting."

"Maybe, uh… Tanny?"

An even harsher shake of the head.

"Ok definitely not. Maybe Tobler-"

"Rattata! Rat rat rattata!"

The professor was promptly cut off by rather loud chittering from the grass along the path. He didn't have any time to react before Rockruff was bowled over right next to him. The professor watched surprised as a veritable cloud of dust formed in a scuffle in front of him as Rockruff tumbled with what he could only assume was a very small Rattata. He didn't have to utter a word before his canine companion had the rat Pokemon pinned thoroughly to the path. That didn't stop it from chittering wildly however.

"Rattata rat rat rattata rat! Rattata rattata rat rattata!"

He could see the patience rapidly disappearing from Rockruff's visage as he began charging an attack.

"Rattata rat? Rattata rat rat rattata!"

The Rattata for all its spunk, had hesitated for a moment, though surprisingly unfazed by Rockruff having prepared an attack. His companion paused for a moment, however, dropping his attack as he leaned in and spoke back.

"Ruff? Rockruff, ruff."

"Rat! Rattata rat rat rat rattata rat! Rattata rat rattata rat rat rattata!"

Rockruff seemed to be thoroughly confused, even a little surprised. As the canine Pokemon loosened his grip the Rattata squirmed out from under him and began spitting out chitters in rapid succession.

"Rat, rattata rat rat! Rattata rattata rat!"

"Ruff, ruff rockruff."

"Rattata! Rattata rat rat rat rattata rattata rat rattata rat rat rat rattata rattata rat rattata rat rattata rattata rat rat! Rat rattata rat rattata rat rat rat rattata! Rat rat rat rattata rattata rat rattata rat! Rattata rat rat rat rat rat rat rat rat ra-"

"Ruff!"

The professor was totally lost at this point, resigning himself to simply watch and observe the comical spectacle before him. The Rattata didn't really seem to be overtly hostile and was certainly the chatterbox.

"Rat! Rattata!"

"Ruff. Rockruff rock."

"Rat! Rattata rat rattata rat rat rat rattata! Rattata rat rat rattata rattata rat rattata rat rat rat rattata-"

"Ruff! Ruff rockruff! Rock rockruff ruff."

It seemed that whatever the Rattata was going on about, Rockruff was getting impatient with it.

"Rat."

Rockruff appeared to roll his eyes, deciding then to stop acknowledging the other Pokemon. He looked to Kukui, who was watching the spectacle, bemused by now. The professor took that as his cue to get moving again. Rockruff seemed to have the same intention but the Rattata called out again.

"Rattata, rat! Rattata rat rat rattata!"

The canine Pokemon didn't even turn, throwing up his snout as he continued to walk away.

"Ruff."

The Rattata seemed to take that as a cue to spout incomprehensible gibberish behind them as they walked away, positively bouncing with energy. The professor chuckled a bit as the chittering faded away slowly as they walked down the path. Rockruff seemed miffed but still emotionally sound.

"Well that was certainly an event. You still up to do names?"

The professor nonchalantly quipped at his companion. The canine Pokemon simply nodded, though his ears piqued slightly at the mention.

"Alright, as I was saying, maybe Toblerrrrr-... Uh, maybe not that. Hmm."

The professor thought a bit more before piping up again.

"Ah, what about this? What do you think of Teo?"

The Rockruff didn't move his head for a moment and the two just walked. Then the canine nodded. The professor was a bit surprised.

"Oh, you like that one? I think you'll wear it well if you ask me."

The Pokemon seemed to walk with a higher, more put together stature.

"Ruff."

Kukui chuckled at the Pokemon's pompous nature.

"As if you wouldn't. Teo it is then."

The rest of the walk was uneventful, and the further they went the more tired the professor began to realize he was. How Angelie had gone without sleep for as long as she had astounded him. He found himself hoping that she'd finally be asleep by the time he got back.

As he descended the hill he began formulating ways of apologizing on the Kahuna's behalf for her ejection from their previous discussion. Hala had a way of scaring people into thinking he disliked them, though it certainly wasn't his intention. Kukui figured that with as thick a skull the man had, it was no wonder he hadn't improved on that.

It wasn't long until the house was right within sight. The professor began moving a tad quicker, thoughts of his warm bed spurring him on. It didn't take him long, however, to notice his companion was lagging behind. Confused, Kukui called out.

"What's up Ro- err, Teo?"

Teo seemed to be approaching behind Kukui, but a bit more trepidatiously, his eyes focused on the building. Something was wrong. The canine Pokemon had a keen sense for detecting if something was amiss. Kukui felt his stomach flip. As he took a second to observe his house he couldn't help but start feeling the same as his companion.

"Teo… Let's look around the house."

* * *

Angelie was awake. Fully conscious but refusing to move a muscle or even so much as open an eye. She didn't know how much time had passed since she'd passed out, having never gotten to see the clock. All she knew was that it had been a while. Tears had stained her face and she could feel their residue, but it wasn't quite the same. Her cheeks weren't sticky and the smell of salt was sharper than usual. She didn't want to know why. Shivering uncontrollably on the ground, fearful of what would happen she debated on whether to move, speak, or even crack open an eye. It was like trying to play dead to hide from a monster that had already gotten to you.

But one thing she couldn't hide from were the smells. Blood, bile, sweat, and the salt from her tears; she could smell them all in disturbing detail and much, much more. Every wisping scent teased her to open her eyes. To finally look at what had become of her.

She could hear the hum of electricity in the lab and the low sigh of the air conditioning. She could hear the sound of the wind outside. She could hear her own, panicked heart beating much faster than it ever should be.

The hard tile of the kitchen floor was the only thing that accompanied her in the darkness and was the only thing she could, ironically, ground herself to.

After a while, Angelie worked some courage together. She would move her battered body. Arceus forbid she open her eyes before she figured out how she felt.

Slowly, she moved an arm.

It felt wrong. All wrong. It wasn't to the side, it was to the front. She felt her shoulder joint slowly rock against her side as she attempted to lift her arm sideways, but was unsuccessful. She breathed a sigh of relief, only because the pain was gone, replaced with an aching soreness that was nothing compared to the fire before. She flexed her fingers.

Four. Where was the thumb. She couldn't feel it. All the dexterity in her hand was gone. It felt stubby, fattened, and swollen.

Terrified, she moved the rest of her body. Angelie's back shivered as she flexed the muscles of her abdomen. They were out of order, mismatched. Her thighs were altogether much too close to her belly, sticking out awkwardly forward. There, downwards, incorrect bends and muscle arrangement and feet suffering whatever had plagued her hands.

Then another tingle down her spine, running all the way to her head. Something new. A length extended from its base. Another appendage. She felt it swish and twitch with the mental attention as her breath hitched. It only meant one thing.

A tail.

Shallow breaths became heavier. She was disfigured, broken beyond repair. Every flex of an appendage was met with a strange rub against fabric, loose and practically smothering her. She felt her breath pool up against it hotly.

She waited a while with her eyes closed as she absorbed everything her body had told her. She could hardly keep her thoughts together. It took a few moments before she elected to figure out how to stand up, if anything just to get out of the strange swathings she could only assume were her clothes.

Angelie quickly found that simply pushing herself up wasn't going to work, the clothes restricting her movement. She rolled around inside the cocoon of linen, it rubbed against her in strange ways like it was rustling her hair. It took a few tries, but she righted myself on her belly. Pushing straight up she felt the soreness in her weak muscles come roaring back. She wanted to keep going, to finally get on her feet again. But, she stopped. She was standing, yet was still on all fours. It felt natural.

Angelie's brain seemed to grind its gears contemplating this, nearly giving into a sense of vertigo, she wobbled, and the sense of falling forced her to catch herself and open her eyes. She was still covered in clothing and didn't see much but the dim moonlight on the fabric of her shirt. She shook, desperately trying to get my clothes off of me. The pants were easy but the shirt was frustratingly difficult. In due time, it came off as well.

Angelie wished it hadn't.

Paws greeted her as she looked down. Her paws. The dainty limbs were coated in a plush looking red fur, which merged into a deep gray further up. She stumbled as she tried to back away from them, forgetting that they were most obviously attached to her. She tumbled down as she tripped on her clothing, catching more glimpses of her form as she fell. Deep gray fur, everywhere, red accents now covering her new paws and the tip of what was undeniably a tail. Haunches replaced legs and paws replaced hands and feet. She couldn't see her face, but if she focused right I could see the tip of a wet nose in her inner peripheral. Only one word could accurately describe how she looked.

_Zorua._

Angelie felt the thought bubble up slowly as she realized what had become of her.

_This isn't real._

She thought it over and over but the more she looked and the more she felt... the more her body told her she was wrong. She rolled over again, scrambling in an attempt to stand yet again. Four legs was not something she was used to, each movement sending waves of unfamiliarity up through her skull. She was on her feet again, albeit ungracefully. The thought ran through her head again.

_This isn't real. It can't be real._

She shook herself, thrashing wildly if only to get away. Her scarce rational thoughts attached to a meager hope to the idea that maybe this was all a bad dream, and that if she moved or did something, anything, that she'd be free of this horrible dream. She yelled too, scratchy, weakened voice crying out desperately.

"No, no, no! This CAN'T be happening!"

All it did was rattle her brain and crack her voice. She was still in the present, stuck in the nightmare.

* * *

"_Something isn't right."_

That's what he'd told his human companion, and for once, the man seemed to take him completely seriously. He'd practically had to drag the man outside the last time there was trouble. Ever since his capture, the Rockruff found himself often growing exasperated with the man, even if he found him incredibly endearing more often than not. So this instance was especially refreshing as he now found himself taking the lead over Kukui.

Teo carefully circled the perimeter of his companion's home. He only had a short amount of time to appreciate the merit of his new name before something came up. He hadn't been lying. It's not hard to tell when something has gone wrong. It gets quiet, scents (or the lack of them, sometimes) are different, or even a gut feeling can betray a threat.

This one was the latter. It was quiet at night and from what he could tell, there wasn't anything too particularly wrong with the smell of things either. But anyone could relate to the feeling of eyes on you or a place simply _feeling_… bad. This wasn't anything he couldn't handle though.

Nose to the ground he checked to see if anyone had been here, raising slightly higher than normal as to not accidentally snort any sand into his nose. The human followed close behind him, making more noise than was entirely necessary. He scoffed internally. At least the professor seemed to be trying his hardest to sneak around, though his efforts were incredibly over-telegraphed.

Soon the Rockruff had scanned the perimeter of the house, though he'd intentionally skipped the front. It didn't do anything to lighten his mood though. If anything, it actually made him somewhat irritated.

Nada. No foreign scents to be found, aside from a few of the expected, stale scents of other Pokemon that had passed through. His frustration showed through his body language as they rested for the moment, around the corner from the front of the house. Kukui whispered to him.

"Did you find something?"

Teo shook his head. The professor seemed to share his feelings, if for a moment, before quietly bouncing back.

"We should check inside then… I hope Angelie is ok."

Having gone on autopilot during his inspection, Teo had forgotten about the human girl completely. He felt his ears perk at the mention but quickly stuffed the gesture. He still wasn't ready to forgive her, it was still her fault he'd been deprived of Mago berries. Even if she did smell nice and acted nice.

Teo shook his head. He didn't notice the professor's curious look and instead simply began to make his way carefully around the corner. The trip to the steps for him was quite simple. The professor had a harder time going about it, having to duck underneath windows and carefully and slowly apply his weight to the mercilessly creaky wooden stairs of the porch.

The Rockruff cringed at every moaning squeak the rotten boards emitted under Kukui's weight. So much for being stealthy. Rockruff waited impatiently for the professor to make it to the door. The human looked down to him as he approached the opposite side of the door, bringing a finger to his lips in a silent "shh".

Teo would have rolled his eyes if it was any other situation, but instead poised, crouching as he prepared to enter the house.

Kukui's hand closed around the handle and slowly turned the handle.

* * *

One, two. One, two. Each step came in a natural progression, but it didn't make it feel any less unnatural.

The overwhelming stench of vomit and blood were beginning to override her sensitive nose. Angelie had checked her chin for any sign of the wound that had come from the chilling experience she'd had before she'd passed out, but it had seemingly disappeared, along with the rest of her humanity.

Some of the shock was beginning to fade, her heart rate stabilizing along with her breath. Her racing mind was a different story. It was slowly coming around to the fact that this was, in fact, real life. Every step she took, every time it slowly became easier and easier to do, she felt my head connect dots. Synapses were rearranging, neurons were firing.

_This is real. This is my body. I'm in this body. I've changed._

It was a futile attempt trying to push away the thoughts, and the more she did, the more upset she felt herself becoming.

_Why did I change?_

She knew. She knew but she didn't want to believe it.

_Daniel's project._

Angelie took another step, fearing the direction her thoughts were heading as she made her way to the living room.

_It was over. I'd squandered it beyond-_

A squeak. Angelie felt her ears twitch. The silence of her thoughts had been abruptly interrupted. Like involuntary radars, she felt her pointed ears search for the noise as her thoughts abruptly switched directions.

A slight shuffle, outside and towards the front door.

Kukui.

Her muscles tensed. Oh no.

With all the uncoordinated haste her sore legs could offer, she chucked herself across the room towards the now much larger couch, the crevice below looking more inviting than ever. Her face was clogged with dust bunnies and a strangely familiar scent as she dived under.

The handle turned with a slow click as she turned in her cramped hiding place to face the door.

It cracked open slowly, the moonlight that had been peeking in through the windows now wormed through the ever widening doorway. She shied away from the beams of light as they penetrated the darkness of her hideout.

Rockruff poked his head through the doorway, now wide enough to worm through. He scanned the room tentatively, ears alert and eyes darting back and forth. It didn't take long for him to spot the kitchen, its running water and overall state of disaster quickly becoming the center of his attention. He barked, the sound of his cry replaced by the alarmed voice of a young man.

"What the!"

Without so much as a look behind him, the canine bounded the rest of the way inside. Leaving the professor in the dust. She saw the silhouette of the man widen as he flung the door open, following in his partner's footsteps.

Her eyes widened as she watched him step inside. His now frighteningly massive shadow casting over the couch.

A breath Angelie didn't realize she'd been holding screamed at her lungs for release, but she held it, watching petrified as Rockruff searched the kitchen.

He lifted his nose as he neared the steps to the raised kitchen floor but immediately retracted, no doubt smelling the body fluid cocktail she had thrown about the place. Kukui was silent. She couldn't see his head from underneath the couch, but she could imagine his face as he saw the disaster that had become of the kitchen. Rockruff disappeared from my vision, obscured by the furniture of the living room and the island tabletop of the kitchen. Angelie shifted anxiously as she heard the shuffling of Kukui's heavy footsteps come to a stop just out of sight.

"Fuck…"

The air froze as she felt tension skyrocket in the spacious main room.

"Fuck. Fucking hell, no… Rockruff, sniff out her clothes, see if you can match a scent. I'm checking the rest of the house."

Kukui's tone carried with it a deeply embedded, but well controlled panic. Angelie heard his heavy footsteps clamber on throughout the house with haste, scouring the lab, then ascending the stairs while Rockruff whined as the scent of bile and blood likely overwhelmed his sensitive nose. Thunderous clamor could be heard upstairs, every rushed footfall sounding like the beat of a drum. She flinched with each thump.

Kukui descended at a hurried pace, running back through the kitchen. Rockruff barked back to him as he returned.

"It's… Too strong. All I can smell is blood and, uh, puke."

She could imagine Kukui's scowl.

"If you can't find anything else then just get _her_ scent. We don't have time, whoever took her could be past Hau'oli right now. Get ready, we're leaving, and I'm making a call."

She heard the metallic click of a phone flicking open and the digital beeps of the dial tone. He was stomping out of the door before the ring had finished, Rockruff hot on his heels.

"Hala, I've got a problem."

The door shut with a decisive slam behind him, this time, a fairly unused looking deadbolt slamming shut.

Angela exhaled, sucking in air as she listened to the sound of sand softened footsteps hurriedly scattering off.

She found herself waiting once again, wondering what to do.

Should I expose myself? Should I run? No matter how she looked at it, every option glared back at her with distaste. However, she wasn't exactly rewarded with the chance of an easy out. Nothing about the situation was good.

Minutes passed until nothing but the midnight silence accompanied her and the sounds of cell phone chatter and scattering sand were gone entirely.

She crawled out of her hiding spot, feeling dust bunnies and accumulated debris clinging to her. Some of the sea breeze had leaked inside, teasing her olfactories. She was shaking, though not voluntarily.

She weighed her options. First, she could stay and show herself to Kukui. That meant that there was a high probability she would be mistaken for any regular pokemon, possibly even one caught up in this new mess, but even worse, a wild pokemon. One that could be easily captured. No, that was bad. There were too many variables, too many untested factors.

Second, she could run.

She didn't want to think about what this could detail. Running away would expose her to every bit of the harsh reality of the Pokemon ecosystem, with none of the protection that came with being a human.

She cringed at the thought, shaking her head. It wasn't true, she was still human.

_That's a lie. _

The thought seeped in. She shoved it away.

Angelie knew nothing about Alola. She was still just familiarizing myself with the indigenous wildlife and knew next to nothing about the food chain, though it wouldn't be hard to make an educated guess.

A cold sweat ran over her for a second. Just how far had she descended? Zorua weren't known for being apex predators, not until evolution at least. They weren't even known for being a part of a food chain at all. They were mostly solitary from what studies showed raised as a tiny minority in a larger ecosystem. They were far and few between. They were uncommon. She was uncommon.

What would she do if a trainer came along? Run on her measly legs and be easily chased down? Fight and be beaten to a pulp?

But there was one thing she was forgetting.

Daniel.

If she stayed and wasn't lucky enough to get it across to Kukui that she was actually herself, there would be no doubt that Daniel would know. All she had to do was speak up. But then she'd be at his mercy. Not to mention, with these results… The project may even have to be cancelled and all of his hard work would be ruined.

No, not going to happen. She grated her sharpened teeth together. Her worry and regret was beginning to turn into anger.

She could fix this. She'd fix all of this.

Angelie trekked to the lab, carefully ascending the stairs as she looked upwards. The window was still open. She retraced the path she'd seen the Zorua take earlier. It seemed even more impossible now from how low she was to the floor. She thought about her new physiology.

_Haunches low, spring off the floor, there is a clear spot on the computer desk. _

She readied herself.

Springing up with all of her might, she launched herself up. Unfortunately for Angelie however, she overshot her mark by a landslide. Flying desperately, ten feet above the counter, she flailed as she attempted to right herself before slamming into the wall, sensitive muzzle first, right above the professor's computer.

She slid down unceremoniously, behind the oversized monitors, jolting the desk as she landed on her backside. She huffed as she felt the throb in her nose, face flushed with embarrassment and frustration. She was doing this, no other options.

Righting myself, she carefully walked around the wired nest behind the monitors and onto the cleared area of Kukui's desk. This next jump would be trickier. It would be onto the one of the beams in the vaulted ceiling. It seemed miles away from where she stood, only a few feet higher off the ground, but there had been no doubt that the Zorua she saw earlier had done exactly the same. Angelie shuffled, readying herself for the jump. All she had to do was pump a little more juice in this time.

The narrow target teased her. She locked on.

Again she jumped, this time, a little more on track. The beam approached quickly and she reached out with her new forepaws to latch on. However, though her front landed safely, she'd entirely forgotten about her backside. Her hind legs undershot completely as the rest of her momentum slammed her small chest onto the beam.

"Ack!"

She scrambled to find purchase on the beam. Her hind legs flailed and scratched at the underside of the beam as she tried desperately to get on top of the beam. She flexed her forepaws, letting the full length of her sharp claws dig into the soft wood as she sent splinters and sawdust downwards.

Thankfully this seemed to do the trick. She managed to get on top of the beam. Carelessly, she took a look down.

Her eyes widened. It was like looking down from the edge of a five story building. She immediately diverted her gaze back upwards. The window was cleanly within sight.

She carefully stepped down the narrow path of the beam, feeling her tail swish behind her, involuntarily wavering as it aided with ballance.

As the window neared she felt the soft ocean breeze waft in. She saw the soft curves of the Alolan landscape and the dotted lights of Hau'oli as she sat in front of her exit.

_Is this the right choice? _

She kept watching from the window. Some of the clouds that had been obscuring the moon for a moment began to move along, slowly spilling light onto her through the window.

As the soft, white beams spread over her fur, a sensation like having sunlight kiss your skin slowly rolled over her. Deep inside she felt her heart leap as the warmth penetrated her chest. She nearly fell off the beam, eyes widening as something clicked in her head.

It wasn't fear, excitement, or even happiness that gripped her. Only a heightened sense of things, like suddenly a switch had been flipped sending her senses into overdrive. She heard the sound of cars mulling in the far distance on late night drives.

The sound of sirens approaching from the distance.

It was time to go.

* * *

The police had been here for an hour. Industrial lights illuminated the outside and inside of Kukui's lab like unforgiving sentries. Investigators swept the area for clues in a fever, while officers scanned the areas with eyes sharp as razor blades. Kukui sat on a beach smoothed boulder, running a hand through his hair, nervously tugging at clumps then deciding against it back and forth. In his off hand, a cell phone hung loosely in his fingertips. Teo stood awkwardly to the side, not fully understanding the situation, but alert nonetheless.

In contrast however, an aura almost like a wave of heat was radiating off the large statured man next to them. Hala's face was contorted in a manner that seemed to send anyone who so much as began to approach turning right back around the other way.

He spoke, his deep baritone rumble terrifyingly even.

"They've finally done it, haven't they."

Kukui, responded, voice soft, ragged, and raw from the sprint up and down the trail.

"Hala, we don't know yet."

"I don't need a single one of these damned investigators to tell me what happened here."

"Hala, ple-"

Hala turned his head to the side. It was all the professor needed to know when to shut up.

"It's Skull."

Hala waited a moment, a deep breath only served to inflate his already imposing figure.

"... Those dumb kids don't know when to stop. It's about time they crossed the line."

A weighted silence hung in the air as the shuffling of feet on sand and the light seabreeze added to the tension.

"I'm notifying the Council."

Hala walked off, leaving Kukui and Teo alone on the moonlit shore.

Suddenly, the phone in Kukui's hand buzzed, interface lighting up as a notification nudged the device awake. Kukui unlocked the device, reading through a chat log. He'd sent a single message to one person ten minutes ago.

The newest line shone with a single string of text.

"I am booking the next flight. Meet me in Hau'oli tomorrow."

Kukui sighed, he had a hotel room ready and he'd best prepare for tomorrow.

* * *

A pair of hands wrung themselves together lightly on top of a polished wooden desktop, dancing around themselves in a precise and calculated wrestling match. The arms they were connected to were sleeved and suited, fine fabric contouring the outlines of a well built figure as the arms connected to the chest. There was not a seam out of place. The lower torso was obscured behind the desk, but one could easily see the upper portion and the head the torso was attached to. The figure was wearing a tie, scarlet red but not garishly so, that was tied in a pristine windsor knot. The head had a short haircut and shaven face, as carefully arranged and trimmed as the rest of the figure's outfit.

The room the figure sat in was well lit with fluorescent lights and was decorated with a single file cabinet and a pair of hard wooden chairs. There were no windows, but the breeze from the air conditioning lightly blew on yet another figure's hair. This new figure stood with their posture stiff as if they were trying to emulate a statue. They were dressed in a suit as well, but it was not nearly as immaculate as the other figure's. It gave away their panic.

The seated figure stared at the standing figure. While their face was undecorated and plain, its angular, statuesque features burned with an intensity beyond mere facial expression.

The stiff standing figure spoke.

"The target is moving, sir."

Silence.

"They seem to have boarded a flight inbound to Hau'oli."

Silence.

"Sir?"

The seated figure did not move through the entirety of the debriefing, simply remaining stoic and silent until speaking a single phrase.

"I do not see how this impedes the investigation, proceed as normal and intercept in kind. Dismissed."

The standing figure saluted, putting their first two fingers to their eyebrow then walking out of the room.

The sitting figure stopped wringing their hands and sat, waiting.

* * *

**Thank you so much for your patience regarding this chapter's release. I've been busy with school for a while, but summer has been kind and hopefully I'll have more time to focus on this story. Thank you for all your kind words so far.**


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